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Between 1912 and 1936, the long
distance running made Finland, a newly independent nation, worldwide
known. In this period, the Flying Finns earned 44 Olympic medals in races
from the 1,500 meters to the marathon.
The
Finland's domination in long distance races started in 1912 with the 3
gold medals earned by Hannes Kolehmainen, that would also won the 1920
marathon with the Olympic record of 2:32.
Among
the Flying Finns, the biggest name was Paavo Nurmi. He won not less than
9 gold and 3 silver medals.
See
the Flying Finn domination by the
table bellow:
| |
1912 |
1920 |
1924 |
1928 |
1932 |
1936 |
Total |
| Gold |
3 |
4 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
24 |
| Silver |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
| Bronze |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
| Total |
5 |
6 |
12 |
8 |
5 |
8 |
44 |
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History of Athletics
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