Vilhjálmur Einarsson

Who is Vilhjálmur Einarsson?

Vilhjálmur Einarsson is a former Icelandic athlete, and triple-jump silver medalist at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Vilhjálmur grew up in the East-Icelandic fishing village of Reyðarfjörður and is the son of Einar Stefánsson and Sigríður Vilhjálmsdóttir.

In 1956 Vilhjálmur set a new Olympic Record by jumping 16.26 m in the triple jump, only to be surpassed by Brazil's Adhemar da Silva. This was the most unexpected result of the Olympics that year, and his silver medal was Iceland's first ever Olympic medal. In 1958 he took bronze in the triple jump at the European Athletics Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, with 16.00 m. His personal best was 16.70 m set in 1960 in Laugardalsvöllur, Iceland. He has been declared Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year five times, more than anyone else.

Vilhjálmur has also been headmaster of three schools: Héraðsskólinn in Laugarvatn, Reykholtsskóli in Reykholt, and Menntaskólinn in Egilsstaðir, where he currently works as a part-time mathematics teacher. He is also an accomplished painter, specializing in landscape painting.

He attended Dartmouth College. His son Einar Vilhjálmsson later represented Iceland in the men's javelin throw at the Summer Olympics.