Toivo Aro

Toivo Aro graduated from a lyceum in Helsinki in 1906. A stern supporter of Finnishness, he changed his surname from Ahlstedt to Aro in the same year. In 1917, he earned a bachelor’s degree and in 1919, a master’s degree in philosophy. He then worked for the Finnish Savings Bank and was the bank’s managing director from 1925-57.

Aro was the best Finnish diver prior to World War I, and in 1905, became the first Finnish swimmer to compete abroad. He won the diving competition in Stockholm and was declared unofficial world champion because he beat the world’s best, who were mainly Swedes. Aro competed in platform diving at the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games. His best performance came at Stockholm 1912, when he placed fifth in plain high diving, the only non-Swedish finalist among six Swedes. He had also reached the final at London 1908, but did not start, allegedly because he did not know about it. A four-time Finnish champion, Aro twice won the national title in platform diving (1907, 1910) and twice in plain high diving (1910, 1911). In addition, he had four podiums in diving as well as podiums in relay swimming and water polo and was active in skiing, netball, tennis, and sailing. As team captain, he attended the Olympic Games in Paris (1924), St. Moritz (1928) and Berlin (1936).

Later, Aro also held several positions in sports administration. From 1916-30, he was chairman of the skiing section of the Finnish Sports Federation (SVUL), from 1928-46 of the Finnish Swimming Federation and in 1938, founding president of the Finnish outdoor association “Suomen Latu”. For almost 30 years (1919-48), Aro was a member of the Finnish Olympic Committee. He also worked as editor-in-chief of Urheilulehti, a popular Finnish sports weekly. In 1957, he was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit for Finnish Sports Culture and Sports. He was appointed Knight of the Order of the White Rose and was awarded the Finnish Red Cross Order of Merit.

Toivo Aro was married to Katri Lille. They had four sons and two daughters.