When legendary Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi was asked about the reason for his success at the 1924 Olympics despite high-heat conditions, he mentioned what tradition of his country as part of his training?
"the famous race on 11 July 1957 when the ""three Olavis"" (Salsola, Salonen and Vuorisalo) broke the world record for the 1500 m, Matti Nurmi finished a distant ninth with his personal best, 2.2 seconds slower than his father's world record from 1924. Hollywood actress Maila Nurmi, best known as the horror icon ""Vampira"", was often referred to as Paavo Nurmi's niece. However, the kinship is not supported by official documents. Nurmi enjoyed the Finnish sports massage and sauna-bathing traditions, crediting the Finnish sauna for his performances during the Paris heat wave in 1924. He had a versatile diet, although"
"the 1924 Summer Olympics, Finland, a nation then of only 3.2 million people, came second in the medal count. In the 1920s and 1930s, Finnish long-distance runners dominated the Olympics, with Paavo Nurmi winning a total of nine Olympic gold medals between 1920 and 1928 and setting 22 official world records between 1921 and 1931. Nurmi is often considered the greatest Finnish sportsman and one of the greatest athletes of all time. For over 100 years, Finnish male and female athletes have consistently excelled at the javelin throw. The event has brought Finland nine Olympic gold medals, five world championships,"
"feat which has never since been repeated. He set new world records for the 1500 m and the 5000 m with just an hour between the races, and took gold medals in both distances in less than two hours at the 1924 Olympics. Seemingly unaffected by the Paris heat wave, Nurmi won all his races and returned home with five gold medals, although he was frustrated that Finnish officials had refused to enter him for the 10,000 m. Struggling with injuries and motivation issues after his exhaustive U.S. tour in 1925, Nurmi found his long-time rivals Ville Ritola and Edvin"
"of middle- and long-distance runners. Nurmi, who rarely ran without a stopwatch in his hand, has been credited for introducing the ""even pace"" strategy and analytic approach to running, and for making running a major international sport. Nurmi was born in Turku, Finland, to carpenter Johan Fredrik Nurmi and his wife Matilda Wilhelmiina Laine. Nurmi's siblings, Siiri, Saara, Martti and Lahja, were born in 1898, 1902, 1905 and 1908, respectively. In 1903, the Nurmi family moved from Raunistula into a 40-square-meter apartment in central Turku, where Paavo Nurmi would live until 1932. The young Nurmi and his friends were inspired"
"m. A year later, Nurmi added the records for the 1500 m and the mile. His feat of holding the world records for the mile, the 5000 m and the 10,000 m at the same time has not been matched by any other athlete before or since. Nurmi also tested his speed in the 800 m, winning the 1923 Finnish Championships with a new national record. After excelling in mathematics, Nurmi graduated as an engineer in 1923 and returned home to prepare for the upcoming Olympic Games. Nurmi's trip to the 1924 Summer Olympics was endangered by a knee injury"
"status; two days before the opening ceremonies, the council rejected his entries. Although he was never declared a professional, Nurmi's suspension became definite in 1934 and he retired from running. Nurmi later coached Finnish runners, raised funds for Finland during the Winter War, and worked as a haberdasher, building contractor, and share trader, eventually becoming one of Finland's richest people. In 1952, he was the lighter of the Olympic Flame at the Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Nurmi's running speed and elusive personality spawned nicknames such as the ""Phantom Finn"", while his achievements, training methods and running style influenced future generations"
"race doubled as a team event, which Finland won, but only the results of the best three finishers (Paavo Nurmi, Heikki Liimatainen and Teodor Koskenniemi) counted for the team result. At the 1924 Olympics in Paris Rastas represented Finland in both the 5000 m and the cross-country race, the latter again doubling as a team competition. The 5000 m was held first; Rastas won his heat and placed 11th in the final. The conditions for the cross-country race were extremely hot and demanding, and the majority of runners failed to finish; this included Rastas, who dropped out shortly after the"
"Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was nicknamed the ""Flying Finn"" as he dominated distance running in the early 20th century. Nurmi set 22 official world records at distances between 1500 metres and 20 kilometres, and won nine gold and three silver medals in his twelve events in the Olympic Games. At his peak, Nurmi was undefeated for 121 races at distances from 800 m upwards. Throughout his 14-year career, he remained unbeaten in cross country events and the 10,000 m. Born into a working-class"
"in Turku. He later credited these climbs for strengthening his back and leg muscles. At 15, Nurmi rekindled his interest in athletics after being inspired by the performances of Hannes Kolehmainen, who was said to ""have run Finland onto the map of the world"" at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He bought his first pair of sneakers a few days later. Nurmi trained primarily by doing cross country running in the summers and cross country skiing in the winters. In 1914, Nurmi joined the sports club Turun Urheiluliitto and won his first race on the 3000 metres. Two years later, he"
"and javelins that were Karhu's main products, the company also produced running shoes and track spikes. The Karhu brand featured prominently at the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games, where Finnish athletes took all three medals in javelin using Karhu javelins, and the ""Flying Finns"" took five gold medals on the track wearing Karhu spikes. Four years later, at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Paavo Nurmi won five gold medals in track events ""wearing a conspicuous pair of white Karhu running spikes"". In the 1930s Karhu's production expanded to include cross-country and ski jumping skis. During the Winter War and Continuation"
"family, Nurmi left school at the age of twelve to provide for his family. In 1912, he was inspired by the Olympic feats of Hannes Kolehmainen and began developing a strict training program. Nurmi started to flourish during his military service, setting national records en route to his international debut at the 1920 Summer Olympics. After winning a silver medal in the 5000 m, he took gold in the 10,000 m and the cross country events. In 1923, Nurmi became the first runner to hold simultaneous world records in the mile, the 5000 m and the 10,000 m races, a"
"Athletics at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres The men's 10,000 metres event was part of the track and field athletics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Sunday, July 6, 1924. Paavo Nurmi the greatest long-distance runner at that time did not compete in this race, as the Finnish officials asked him not to start in this event. They thought he was entered in too many competitions. Only a few weeks after the Olympics on August 31 Nurmi set a new world record with 30:06.2 in Kuopio. As for all other races the"
"first to a staff sergeant (""ylikersantti"") and later to a sergeant first class (""vääpeli""). In 1952, Nurmi was persuaded by Urho Kekkonen, Prime Minister of Finland and former chairman of the Finnish Athletics Federation, to carry the Olympic torch into the Olympic Stadium at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. His appearance astonished the spectators, and ""Sports Illustrated"" wrote that ""his celebrated stride was unmistakable to the crowd. When he came into view, waves of sound began to build throughout the stadium, rising to a roar, then to a thunder. When the national teams, assembled in formation on the infield,"
"to fulfill Pierre de Coubertin's original idea. For the first time since the Games started in 1896 were all five inhabited continents represented with athletes competing in the same stadium. The scheduled 1916 Summer Olympics were cancelled following the onset of World War I. The 1920 Antwerp games in war-ravaged Belgium were a subdued affair, but again drew a record number of competitors. This record only stood until 1924, when the Paris Games involved 3,000 competitors, the greatest of whom was Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi. The ""Flying Finn"" won three team gold medals and the individual 1,500 and 5,000 meter"
"plane when he moved back to Finland in 1970. Paavo Nurmi Marathon, held annually since 1969, is the oldest marathon in Wisconsin and the second-oldest in the American Midwest. In Finland, another marathon bearing the name has been held in Nurmi's hometown of Turku since 1992, along with the athletics competition Paavo Nurmi Games that was started in 1957. Finlandia University, an American college with Finnish roots, named their athletic center after Nurmi. A ten-mark bill featuring a portrait of Nurmi was issued by the Bank of Finland in 1987. The other revised bills honored architect Alvar Aalto, composer Jean"
"helped by the fact that the race was run in the dark, as it began at 5 pm. Cross country was contested as a team and individual event at the 1912, 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics. Sweden took gold in 1912, and Finland, led by Paavo Nurmi, captured the gold in 1920 and 1924. During the 1924 race in the Paris heat wave, only 15 of the 38 competitors reached the finish. Eight of those were taken away on stretchers. One athlete began to run in tight circles after reaching the stadium and later knocked himself unconscious, while another fainted"
"win the 3000 m team race. Ville Ritola's Paris 1924 triumph is historical. Until today his six medals from Paris is the biggest number of medals won by an athlete in one Olympic games event. His four gold medals put him in second place after Paavo Nurmi in the number of gold medals won by an athlete in one Olympic Games event. After the Olympics Ville Ritola had to return to the US to find employment, while his pregnant wife remained in Finland. His daughter Anja was born in November 1924. Selma joined her husband in the US with the"
"Charles Hoff for the pole vault (1925). Paavo Nurmi Games, a track and field meet, is held at the stadium annually. Paavo Nurmi Stadium Paavo Nurmi Stadium (, ) is a multi-use stadium in Turku, Finland. It is currently used mostly for football matches and athletics meets. It holds 13,000 people and is named after the Turku-born runner Paavo Nurmi. Twenty athletics world records have been set at the stadium. John Landy broke the world records for the 1,500 m and the mile (1954), Nurmi for the 3,000 m (1922), Emil Zátopek (1950) and Ron Clarke (1965) for the 10,000"
"saw the flowing figure of Nurmi, they broke ranks like excited schoolchildren, dashing toward the edge of the track."" After lighting the flame in the Olympic Cauldron, Nurmi passed the torch to his idol Kolehmainen, who lighted the beacon in the tower. In the cancelled 1940 Summer Olympics, Nurmi had been planned to lead a group of fifty Finnish gold medal winners. Nurmi felt that he got too much credit as an athlete and too little as a businessman, but his interest in running never died. He even returned to the track himself a few times. In 1946, he faced"
"Wide ever more serious challengers. At the 1928 Summer Olympics, Nurmi recaptured the 10,000 m title but was beaten for the gold in the 5000 m and the 3000 m steeplechase. He then turned his attention to longer distances, breaking the world records for events such as the one hour run and the 25-mile marathon. Nurmi intended to end his career with a marathon gold medal, as his idol Kolehmainen had done. In a controversial case that strained Finland–Sweden relations and sparked an inter-IAAF battle, Nurmi was suspended before the 1932 Games by an IAAF council that questioned his amateur"
"Nurmi, ""Paavo the Great. Great Race. Great Dream."", written by Paavo Haavikko and composed by Tuomas Kantelinen, debuted at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in 2000. In a 2005 episode of ""The Simpsons"", Mr. Burns brags that he once outraced Nurmi in his antique motorcar. The starts figure excludes heats, handicap races, relays, and events where Nurmi raced alone against relay teams. The starts figure excludes heats, handicap races, relays, and events where Nurmi raced alone against relay teams. Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was"
"Ville Ritola. Nurmi won three gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Belgium and five at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he was partnered with Ritola, who ran to four gold medals. Volmari Iso-Hollo, the winner of 3000 m steeplechase at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics, was one of the best-known Finnish runners in the 1930s and also nicknamed the Flying Finn. During his tour of the United States in 1940, Taisto Mäki—who held five world records—was regularly referred to as a Flying Finn. The last Flying Finn in running was Lasse Virén, who won the"
"Finland at the 1924 Summer Olympics Finland competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. 121 competitors, all men, took part in 69 events in 12 sports. Fifty-two athletes represented Finland in 1924. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport as well as the Games. Nurmi won gold medals and set Olympic records in both the 1500 and 5000 metre races, with Ritola very close on his heels in the 5000 for silver. The pair finished first and second in the same order in the cross country race, as well. Nurmi did not defend his 1920 title"
"definite. Less than three weeks later, Nurmi retired from running with a 10,000 m victory in Viipuri on 16 September 1934. Nurmi remained undefeated in the distance throughout his 14-year top-level career. In cross country running, his win streak lasted 19 years. While active as a runner, Nurmi was known to be secretive about his training methods. Always running alone, he upped his pace and quickly exhausted anyone who was bold enough to join him. Even his club mate Harri Larva had learned little from him. After ending his career, Nurmi became a coach for the Finnish Athletics Federation and"
"in 1924 that Nurmi ""is ever more serious, reserved, concentrated, pessimistic, fanatic. There is such coldness in him and his self-control is so great that never for a moment does he show his feelings."" Some contemporary Finns nicknamed him ""Suuri vaikenija"" (The Great Silent One), and Ron Clarke noted that Nurmi's persona remained a mystery even to Finnish runners and journalists: ""Even to them, he was never quite real. He was enigmatic, sphinx-like, a god in a cloud. It was as if he was all the time playing a role in a drama."" Nurmi was more responsive to his fellow"
"Paavo Nurmi Stadium Paavo Nurmi Stadium (, ) is a multi-use stadium in Turku, Finland. It is currently used mostly for football matches and athletics meets. It holds 13,000 people and is named after the Turku-born runner Paavo Nurmi. Twenty athletics world records have been set at the stadium. John Landy broke the world records for the 1,500 m and the mile (1954), Nurmi for the 3,000 m (1922), Emil Zátopek (1950) and Ron Clarke (1965) for the 10,000 m, Viljo Heino for the one-hour run (1945) and the 20 km (1949), Matti Järvinen for the javelin throw (1932) and"
"four main characters; Paavo Nurmi, his spouse Sylvi Nurmi, the later president of Finland Urho Kekkonen and the mysterious ""Dark Lady"". Paavo the Great. Great Race. Great Dream. Paavo the Great. Great Race. Great Dream. () is an opera in three acts by Finnish composer Tuomas Kantelinen to a libretto by the poet Paavo Haavikko. The opera deals with the life of the Finnish middle- and long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi who won a total of nine Olympic gold medals in the 1920s. It was premiered in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in 2000 as Helsinki was one of the European Capitals"
"Paavo the Great. Great Race. Great Dream. Paavo the Great. Great Race. Great Dream. () is an opera in three acts by Finnish composer Tuomas Kantelinen to a libretto by the poet Paavo Haavikko. The opera deals with the life of the Finnish middle- and long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi who won a total of nine Olympic gold medals in the 1920s. It was premiered in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in 2000 as Helsinki was one of the European Capitals of Culture. The title refers to Nurmi's great ambition to win the marathon race at the 1940 Helsinki Olympics, which were"
"m and the now discontinued cross country event. With the Finnish team, he also obtained a silver place in the cross country team event. Kolehmainen's sportive career was interrupted by the First World War, but he remained an athlete to be reckoned with, although his specialty had now shifted to the longer distances, especially the marathon. At the first post-war Olympics in Antwerp, he won the gold medal in this event. He would also enter the Olympic marathon in 1924, but did not complete that race. By then, Kolehmainen had found a worthy successor in Paavo Nurmi. Together with Nurmi,"
"new means of transport kill your instinct for physical exercise. Too many young people get used to driving in a car even for small distances.'"" In 1966, he took the microphone in front of 300 sports club guests and criticised the state of distance running in Finland, reproaching the sports executives as publicity seekers and tourists, and demanding athletes sacrifice everything to accomplish something. Nurmi lived to see the renaissance of Finnish running in the 1970s, led by athletes such as the 1972 Olympic gold medalists Lasse Virén and Pekka Vasala. He had complimented the running style of Virén, and"
"and had altogether 19 siblings, five of whom had died in infancy. 6 of the children were from his father's first marriage, 14 from the second, including Ville. In 1913 he followed seven of his siblings and emigrated to the United States to work as a carpenter. There he started training in 1919 when he was already 23 years old. Later he many times referred to this late start of his sports career, and how it put him in a disadvantage compared to his rivals, especially the more famous of the Flying Finns, Paavo Nurmi, who started systematic training in"
"in the spring of 1924, but he recovered and resumed training twice a day. On 19 June, Nurmi tried out the 1924 Olympic schedule at the Eläintarha Stadium in Helsinki by running the 1500 m and the 5000 m inside an hour, setting new world records for both distances. In the 1500 m final at the Olympics in Paris, Nurmi ran the first 800 m almost three seconds faster. His only challenger, Ray Watson of the United States, gave up before the last lap and Nurmi was able to slow down and coast to victory ahead of Willy Schärer, H."
"athletics international. After Nurmi's suspension, Finland did not agree to return to the event until 1939. Nurmi refused to turn professional, and continued running as amateur in Finland. In 1933, he ran his first 1500 m in three years and won the national title with his best time since 1926. At the IAAF meet in August 1934, Finland launched two proposals that lost. The council then brought forward its resolution empowering it to suspend athletes that it finds in violation of the IAAF amateur code. With a 12–5 vote, with many not voting, Nurmi's suspension from international amateur athletics became"