Considered the greatest runner of the history, Paavo Nurmi, also known as the "Flying Finn", made the name his newly independent nation worldwide known by earning 9 gold and 3 silver Olympic medals in the 20's.

Paavo was an athlete ahead of his time and trained with a dedication never seen before. "The success in sports come almost all from devotion, the athlete have to make devotion his speciality", said the champion. He was one of the first athletes to have a system of training and never ran without holding his watch.  

He made his Olympics debut in Antwerp 1920 being defeated by the french Joseph Guillemot on the 5,000 meters. This was the only time he would be defeated by a foreign in an Olympic final. Besides this silver medal, Paavo won 3 gold medals in the 10,000 meters, cross-country and cross country team competition. 

The Paris 1924 Olympic Games was the climax of the Finn runners and Paavo won not less than 5 gold medals in 6 days! And he won the 1,500 and 5,000 meters in the space of just 2 hours! The other 3 gold medals were in the 3,000 meters team competition, cross country and cross country team competition. 

In his last Olympics, Amsterdan 1928, Paavo won the 10,000 meters and was silver in the 5,000 meters and 3,000 meters steeplechase. He also tried to take part in Los Angeles 1932 Olympic Games, where he would face the challenge of the marathon. However, he was prevent from compete in his 4th Olympics and suspended under the accusation of "professionalism". In his whole career, Paavo broke 29 world records in distances from the 1,500 to the 20,000 meters.

Back to History of Athletics