Ari Salin

Ari Juhani Salin (20 January 1947 – 4 March 2026) was a Finnish hurdler and sprinter. Salin set Finnish records in both the 110 metres hurdles and the 400 metres hurdles and competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Career Salin won his first title at the national championships in 1968, when he won the 110 m hurdles in 14.7. The same year, he broke the Finnish record for the first time, running 14.2 and improving the previous record by one-tenth of a second. He repeated as national champion in 1969 Originally, the 110 m hurdles were his main event, and he only dabbled in the 400 m hurdles; in 1970, however, he seriously took up the longer event as well. In 1972, Salin won his third consecutive national title in the 400 m hurdles and set his personal best and last Finnish record, 49.5, in Helsinki.

In total, Salin won eight individual national championship titles between 1968 and 1974 – four in the 400 m hurdles, three in the 110 m hurdles, and one in the 60 m indoor hurdles. In addition, he ran for Viipurin Urheilijat when they won the 1976 national championship in the 4 × 400 m relay. He died on 4 March 2026, at the age of 79.