104 Facts About Paavo Nurmi

Paavo Johannes Nurmi was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner.

Paavo Nurmi was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s.

At his peak, Paavo Nurmi was undefeated for 121 races at distances from 800 m upwards.

Paavo Nurmi started to flourish during his military service, setting Finnish records in athletics en route to his international debut at the 1920 Summer Olympics.

In 1923, Paavo Nurmi became the first runner to hold simultaneous world records in the mile, the 5000 m and the 10,000 m races, a feat which has never been repeated.

Paavo Nurmi 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 Summer Olympics.

At the 1928 Summer Olympics, Paavo Nurmi recaptured the 10,000 m title but was beaten for the gold in the 5000 m and the 3000 m steeplechase.

Paavo Nurmi then turned his attention to longer distances, breaking the world records for events such as the one hour run and the 25-mile marathon.

Paavo Nurmi intended to end his career with a marathon gold medal, as his idol Kolehmainen had done.

Paavo Nurmi later coached Finnish runners, raised funds for Finland during the Winter War, and worked as a haberdasher, building contractor, and stock trader, becoming one of the richest people in Finland.

Paavo 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 of middle- and long-distance runners.

Paavo Nurmi was born in Turku, Finland, to carpenter Johan Fredrik Paavo Nurmi and his wife Matilda Wilhelmiina Laine.

Paavo Nurmi's siblings, Siiri, Saara, Martti and Lahja, were born in 1898,1902,1905 and 1908, respectively.

Paavo Nurmi later credited these climbs for strengthening his back and leg muscles.

At 15, Paavo 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.

Paavo Nurmi bought his first pair of sneakers a few days later.

Paavo Nurmi trained primarily by doing cross country running in the summers and cross country skiing in the winters.

In 1914, Paavo Nurmi joined the sports club Turun Urheiluliitto and won his first race on the 3000 metres.

Paavo Nurmi continued to provide for his family through his new job at the Ab.

Paavo Nurmi's stubbornness caused him difficulties with his non-commissioned officers, but he was favoured by the superior officers, despite his refusal to take the military oath even at the threat of a court-martial.

Paavo Nurmi improvised new training methods in the army barracks; he ran behind trains, holding on to the rear bumper, to stretch his stride, and used heavy iron-clad army boots to strengthen his legs.

Paavo Nurmi soon began setting personal bests and got close for the Olympic selection.

Paavo Nurmi made his international debut in August at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.

Paavo Nurmi took his first medal by finishing second to Frenchman Joseph Guillemot in the 5000 m This would remain the only time that Nurmi lost to a non-Finnish runner in the Olympics.

Paavo Nurmi went on to win gold medals in his other three events: the 10,000 m, sprinting past Guillemot on the final curve and improving his personal best by over a minute, the cross country race, beating Sweden's Eric Backman, and the cross country team event where he helped Heikki Liimatainen and Teodor Koskenniemi defeat the British and Swedish teams.

Paavo Nurmi's success brought electric lighting and running water for his family in Turku.

Paavo Nurmi was given a scholarship to study at the Teollisuuskoulu industrial school in Helsinki.

Previously known for his blistering pace on the first few laps, Paavo Nurmi started to carry a stopwatch and spread his efforts more uniformly over the distance.

Paavo Nurmi aimed to perfect his technique and tactics to a point where the performances of his rivals would be rendered meaningless.

Paavo Nurmi set his first world record on the 10,000 m in Stockholm in 1921.

In 1922, he broke the world records for the 2000 m, the 3000 m and the 5000 m A year later, Nurmi added the records for the 1500 m and the mile.

Paavo Nurmi tested his speed in the 800 m, winning the 1923 Finnish Championships with a new national record.

On 19 June, Paavo Nurmi tried out the 1924 Olympic schedule at the Elaintarha Stadium in Helsinki by running the 1500 m and the 5000 m inside an hour, setting new world records for both distances.

The 5000 m final started in less than two hours, and Nurmi faced a tough challenge from countryman Ville Ritola, who had already won the 3000 m steeplechase and the 10,000 m Ritola and Edvin Wide figured that Nurmi must be tired and tried to burn him off by running at world-record pace.

Paavo Nurmi exhibited only slight signs of exhaustion after beating Ritola to the win by nearly a minute and a half.

Paavo Nurmi had won five gold medals in five events, but he left the Games embittered as the Finnish officials had allocated races between their star runners and prevented him from defending his title in the 10,000 m, the distance that was dearest to him.

Paavo Nurmi now held the 1500 m, the mile, the 3000 m, the 5000 m and the 10,000 m world records simultaneously.

In early 1925, Paavo Nurmi embarked on a widely publicised tour of the United States.

Paavo Nurmi's debut was a copy of his feats in Helsinki and Paris.

Paavo Nurmi defeated Joie Ray and Lloyd Hahn to win the mile and Ritola to win the 5000 m, again setting new world records for both distances.

Paavo Nurmi broke ten more indoor world records in regular events and set several new best times for rarer distances.

Paavo Nurmi won 51 of the events, abandoned one race and lost two handicap races along with his final event; a half-mile race at the Yankee Stadium, where he finished second to American track star Alan Helffrich.

Paavo Nurmi left America fearing that he had competed too often and burned himself out.

Paavo Nurmi struggled to maintain motivation for running, heightened by his rheumatism and Achilles tendon problems.

Paavo Nurmi quit his job as a machinery draughtsman in 1926 and began studying business intensively.

In 1926, Paavo Nurmi broke Wide's world record for the 3000 m in Berlin and then improved the record in Stockholm, despite Nils Eklof repeatedly trying to slow his pace down in an effort to aid Wide.

Paavo Nurmi was furious at the Swedes and vowed never to race Eklof again.

Paavo Nurmi ended his season and threatened, until late November, to withdraw from the 1928 Summer Olympics.

At the 1928 Olympic trials, Paavo Nurmi was left third in the 1500 m by eventual gold and bronze medalists Harri Larva and Eino Purje, and he decided to concentrate on the longer distances.

Paavo Nurmi added steeplechase to his program, although he had only tried the event twice before, the latest being a two-mile steeplechase victory at the 1922 British Championships.

At the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, Paavo Nurmi competed in three events.

Paavo Nurmi won the 10,000 m by staying right behind Ritola until sprinting past him on the home straight.

Paavo Nurmi fell on his back at the water jump, spraining his hip and foot.

Lucien Duquesne stopped to help him up, and Paavo Nurmi thanked the Frenchman by pacing him past the field and offered him the heat win, which Duquesne gracefully refused.

Paavo Nurmi, looking more exhausted than ever before, only barely managed to keep Wide behind and take silver.

Paavo Nurmi had little time to rest or nurse his injuries as the 3000 m steeplechase started the next day.

In January 1929, Paavo Nurmi started his second US tour from Brooklyn.

Paavo Nurmi suffered his first-ever defeat in the mile to Ray Conger at the indoor Wanamaker Mile.

Paavo Nurmi was seven seconds slower than in his world record run in 1925, and it was immediately speculated if the mile had become too short a distance for him.

In July 1931, Paavo Nurmi showed he still had pace for the shorter distances by beating Lauri Lehtinen, Lauri Virtanen and Volmari Iso-Hollo, and breaking the world record on the now-rare two miles.

Paavo Nurmi was the first runner to complete the distance in less than nine minutes.

Paavo Nurmi was hopeful that his suspension would be lifted in time for the Games.

On 26 June 1932 Paavo Nurmi started his first marathon at the Olympic trials.

Paavo Nurmi's time was the new unofficial world record for the short marathon.

Confident that he had done enough, Paavo Nurmi stopped and retired from the race owing to problems with his Achilles tendon.

The Guardian reported that "some of his trial times were almost unbelievable," and Paavo Nurmi went on to train at the Olympic Village in Los Angeles despite his injury.

Paavo Nurmi had set his heart on ending his career with a marathon gold medal, as Kolehmainen had done shortly after the First World War.

Less than three days before the 10,000 m, a special commission of the IAAF, consisting of the same seven members that had suspended Paavo Nurmi, rejected the Finn's entries and barred him from competing in Los Angeles.

The report for Paavo Nurmi's ban came from Avery Brundage, president of the American Sports Federation.

Edstrom's right-hand man Bo Ekelund, secretary general of the IAAF and head of the Swedish Athletics Federation, approached the Finnish officials and stated that he might be able to arrange for Paavo Nurmi to participate in the marathon outside the competition.

Paavo Nurmi refused to turn professional, and continued running as an amateur in Finland.

Less than three weeks later, Paavo Nurmi retired from running with a 10,000 m victory in Viipuri on 16 September 1934.

Paavo Nurmi remained undefeated in the distance throughout his 14-year top-level career.

However, Paavo Nurmi returned to coaching three months later and the Finnish distance runners went on to take three gold medals, three silvers and a bronze at the Games.

In 1936, Paavo Nurmi opened a men's clothing store in Helsinki.

Paavo Nurmi made money on the stock market, eventually becoming one of Finland's richest people.

In February 1940, during the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, Paavo Nurmi returned to the United States with his protege Taisto Maki, who had become the first man to run the 10,000 m under 30 minutes, to raise funds and rally support to the Finnish cause.

In 1952, Paavo 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.

Paavo Nurmi felt that he got too much credit as an athlete and too little as a businessman, but his interest in running never died.

Paavo Nurmi even returned to the track himself a few times.

Paavo Nurmi ran for the last time on 18 February 1966 at the Madison Square Garden, invited by the New York Athletic Club.

Paavo Nurmi lived to see the renaissance of Finnish running in the 1970s, led by athletes such as the 1972 Olympic gold medalists Lasse Viren and Pekka Vasala.

Paavo Nurmi had complimented the running style of Viren, and advised Vasala to concentrate on Kipchoge Keino.

On his 70th birthday, Paavo Nurmi agreed to an interview for Yle, Finland's national public-broadcasting company, only after learning that President Kekkonen would act as the interviewer.

Paavo Nurmi died in 1973 in Helsinki and was given a state funeral.

Paavo Nurmi was married to socialite Sylvi Laaksonen from 1932 to 1935.

Paavo Nurmi enjoyed the Finnish sports massage and sauna-bathing traditions, crediting the Finnish sauna for his performances during the Paris heat wave in 1924.

Paavo Nurmi had a versatile diet, although he had practiced vegetarianism between the ages of 15 and 21.

Paavo Nurmi was not believed to have had any close friends, but he had occasionally socialized and showed his "sarcastic sense of humour" among the small circles he knew.

Paavo Nurmi was enigmatic, sphinx-like, a god in a cloud.

Paavo Nurmi was more responsive to his fellow athletes than to the media.

Paavo Nurmi exchanged ideas with sprinter Charley Paddock and even trained with his rival Otto Peltzer.

Paavo Nurmi set many more unofficial ones for a total of 58.

Paavo Nurmi introduced the "even pace" strategy to running, pacing himself with a stopwatch and spreading his energy uniformly over the race.

Lasse Viren idolized Paavo Nurmi and was scheduled to meet him for the first time on the day that Paavo Nurmi died.

Paavo Nurmi's influence stretched further than running on the Olympic arena.

In 1936, Ludwig Stubbendorf and his horse Paavo Nurmi won the individual and team gold medals in eventing.

Statues of Paavo Nurmi were sculpted by Renee Sintenis in 1926 and by Carl Eldh, whose 1937 work Lopare depicts a battle between Paavo Nurmi and Edvin Wide.

Boken om Paavo Nurmi, released in Sweden in 1925, was the first biographical book on a Finnish sportsman.

Paavo Nurmi Marathon, held annually since 1969, is the oldest marathon in Wisconsin and the second-oldest in the American Midwest.

The Paavo Nurmi bill was replaced by a new 20-mark note featuring Vaino Linna in 1993.

Twenty world records have been set at the stadium, including John Landy's records on the 1500 m and the mile, Nurmi's record on the 3000 m and Zatopek's record on the 10,000 m In fiction, Nurmi appears in William Goldman's 1974 novel Marathon Man as the idol of the protagonist, who aims to become a greater runner than Nurmi.

The starts figure excludes heats, handicap races, relays, and events where Paavo Nurmi raced alone against relay teams.

The starts figure excludes heats, handicap races, relays, and events where Paavo Nurmi raced alone against relay teams.