Paavo Nurmi

Medal record
Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Men's athletics
Competitor for Finland
Olympic Games
Gold	1920 Antwerp	10000 m
Gold	1920 Antwerp	Individual cross country
Gold	1920 Antwerp	Cross country team
Gold	1924 Paris	1500 m
Gold	1924 Paris	5000 m
Gold	1924 Paris	Individual cross country
Gold	1924 Paris	5000 m cross country team
Gold	1924 Paris	3000 m team
Gold	1928 Amsterdam	10000 m
Silver	1920 Antwerp	5000 m
Silver	1928 Amsterdam	5000 m
Silver	1928 Amsterdam	3000 m steeplechase

Statue of Paavo Nurmi in front of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium

Paavo Johannes Nurmi ( pronunciation ) (13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish runner. Born in Turku, he was known as one of the "Flying Finns," a term given to him, Hannes Kolehmainen, Ville Ritola, and others for their distinction in running. During the 1920s, Nurmi was the best middle and long distance runner in the world, setting world records at distances between 1500 m and 20 km.

Nurmi won a total of nine gold and three silver medals in the 12 events in which he competed at the Olympic Games from 1920 to 1928. In particular, he won five gold medals at the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris, becoming the most successful athlete there. In 1932, Nurmi was unable to compete at the Olympics, as he had received money for his running and was thus considered a professional.

Career

Olympic career

Nurmi debuted at the 1920 Summer Olympics by competing in four events. He won three gold medals: the 10,000 m, the cross country event, and the cross country team event; and he finished second in the 5000 m.

In the 1924, he won five gold medals in five events, including the 1500 m and the 5000 m. The finals of the two races were only 26 minutes apart. At a try-out earlier the same year, he had broken the world record in both of these events and the 3000 m team race, and ??? again both cross country events. It was the last time these cross country events were held, as the great heat caused more than half of the competitors to abandon the race, and many more had to be taken to hospital. Finnish officials, fearing for his health, refused to enter Nurmi in the 10,000 m event. Thus, he was unable to defend his title. An angry Nurmi protested after returning to Finland by setting a 10,000 m world record that would last for almost 13 years.

Nurmi ended his Olympic career at the 1928 Summer Olympics, winning the 10,000 m and two silver medals (5000 m and 3000 m steeplechase).

Nurmi has won the most Olympic medals in track and field with a total of twelve. He ties Larisa Latynina, Mark Spitz, and Carl Lewis with nine Olympic gold medals, second only to Michael Phelps with fourteen. Due to this fact, he is often considered the greatest track and field athlete of all time. His 12th Olympic medal broke the previous record of 11 set by Carl Osburn at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. His record would stand until the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, when Edoardo Mangiarotti would win his 13th medal.

During his competitive running career, which lasted from about 1919 to 1934, Nurmi earned a reputation for speaking very little off the track, earning him the nickname "Great Silent One" (Suuri vaikenija) by some contemporary Finns. An illustration of this was his two-word reply to a congratulatory speech during his 1925 tour of the United States which consisted of simply "Thank you!".

Nurmi was a vegetarian from the age of 12.

Later life

Nurmi continued to run after the Olympics in Amsterdam with every intent to compete in the 10,000 m and marathon events at the 1932 Summer Olympics, but he was branded a professional and barred from running in Los Angeles. The main conductors of the ban were the Swedish officials, especially Sigfrid Edström, the president of the IAAF and vice-president of the IOC. Edström claimed that Nurmi had received too much money for his travel expenses to a meet in Germany. This was seen as jealousy by many in Finland and in part led to Finland refusing to participate in the traditional Finland-Sweden international athletics event until 1939.

However, Nurmi did travel to Los Angeles and kept training at the Olympic Village. Despite pleas from all the entrants of the marathon, Nurmi was not allowed to compete at the Games. Although he had suffered from injuries, he claimed he would have won the marathon by five minutes after the event was over. He had set his heart on ending his career with a marathon gold medal, as his fellow countryman Hannes Kolehmainen had done shortly after the First World War.

A Finnish national hero, Paavo Nurmi was the lighter of the Olympic Flame at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. In retirement he ran a haberdashery store in Helsinki, and owned a housing construction company which built several houses and apartment buildings around Helsinki.

Nurmi had a brief marriage with Sylvi Nurmi, from 1932 to 1935. Their son Matti was a Finnish national-level middle-distance runner in the 1950s.

A widely publicized practical joke by students at the Helsinki University of Technology took place in 1961, when a team of students smuggled a statue of Nurmi onto the 300-year-old wreck of the Swedish Regalskeppet Vasa just days before its lifting from the bottom of the sea.

In his final years, starting around 1967, when he allowed the Finnish President Urho Kekkonen (a personal friend and sports enthusiast) to interview him for his 70th birthday over the Finnish Public Radio YLE, Nurmi gave more newspaper and magazine interviews. Suffering from health problems especially since the late 1960s, with at least one heart attack, a stroke and failing eyesight, he at times spoke bitterly about sports, calling it a waste of time compared to science and art. Nurmi died in 1973 in Helsinki and was given a state funeral.

Popular Culture

Nurmi is the uncle of the Hollywood B movie actress Vampira, who appeared in Plan 9 from Outer Space among others. She was born Maila Syrjäniemi and later changed to the surname Nurmi.

Nurmi is mentioned in The Simpsons episode, "Goo Goo Gai Pan," where Mr. Burns defends the strength of his antique motorcar by declaring, "Did you know that this car once outraced the Flying Finn, Paavo Nurmi?". The most famous Hungarian steam locomotive, the 424, had one of its nicknames after him because of its speed.

Along with Abebe Bikila, Nurmi appears in William Goldman's novel Marathon Man, as one of the protagonist's heroes whom he fantasises encouraging him.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games

External links

• Paavo Nurmi 100 years

Records
Preceded by John Zander	Men's 1,500 m World Record Holder 19 June 1924 – 11 September 1926	Succeeded by Otto Peltzer
Preceded by Norman Taber	Men's Mile World Record Holder 23 August 1923 – 4 October 1931	Succeeded by Jules Ladoumègue
Preceded by John Zander	Men's 3,000 m World Record Holder 27 August 1922 – 7 June 1925	Succeeded by Edvin Wide
Preceded by Edvin Wide	Men's 3,000 m World Record Holder 24 May 1926 – 19 June 1932	Succeeded by Janusz Kusociński
Preceded by Jean Bouin	Men's 10,000 m World Record Holder 22 June 1921 – 25 May 1924	Succeeded by Ville Ritola
Preceded by Ville Ritola	Men's 10,000 m World Record Holder 31 August 1924 – 18 July 1937	Succeeded by Ilmari Salminen
Preceded by John Zander	European Record Holder Men's 1500m 19 June 1924 - 10 September 1926	Succeeded by Otto Peltzer
Olympic Games
Preceded by John Mark	Final Summer Olympic Torchbearer with Hannes Kolehmainen Helsinki 1952	Succeeded by Ron Clarke & Hans Wikne