Johan Valdemar Kemp (born Johan Valdemar Kemppainen; 1 July 1881 – 20 October 1941) was a Finnish athlete who won bronze in the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Sport

Kemp took part in two different sports in the Olympics. He was the commodore of the sailing club Lahden Purjehdusseura for over ten years.

Career

He performed his matriculation exam in the Kotka Swedish Co-educational School in 1904. He started his career in banking in 1906. He became a bank manager in Helsingin Osakepankki in Lahti in 1919. He was an independent member of the Lahti city council in 1930–1931.

Activism

He was a resistance activist during the period of Russification of Finland, although he estimated his role as minor. He was a founding member of the Lahti White Guard in August 1917 and joined the White Guard district staff in December. He took part in the Mommila skirmish as a leader in November 1917. He spent the Finnish Civil War obtaining rifles and ammunition and serving as an aide-de-camp and a chief of staff to various commanding officers. He remained in the local White Guard leadership up to his death. He was awarded the Medal of Merit of the Frontman's Union of Liberation War.

Personal

His parents were coachman Juha Juhanpoika Kemppainen and Edla Gustava Helenius. He married Helmi Maria Markkanen in 1910. They had four daughters: They divorced in 1919. He married Ruth Elna Alanco in 1922. They had no children. He died of a cardiac arrest. He is buried at the Old Cemetery in Lahti.

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