Paavo Nurmi was a Finnish middle- and long-distance runner, nicknamed the Flying Finn, who dominated distance running in the 1920s. He won nine Olympic gold medals across the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Games in events ranging from 1,500 meters to cross country, and set numerous world records, becoming one of the first athletes to build a training regimen around precise pace judgment using a stopwatch during races.
Facts
Career HighlightKnown as the Flying Finn, he set 22 official world records and won nine gold and three silver Olympic medals across 12 events. 1 Classification
Competition Category Connections
Competed In
Source Wikipedia, Paavo Nurmi
Source Wikipedia, Paavo Nurmi
Source Wikipedia, Paavo Nurmi
Plays
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Finland, nationality there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Paavo Nurmi
Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org lead sentence, birth-date clause: "13 June 1897"
13 June 1897
en.wikipedia.org lead sentence, birth-year figure: "13 June 1897"
13 June 1897
en.wikipedia.org lead sentence, death-date clause: "2 October 1973"
2 October 1973
en.wikipedia.org lead sentence, death-year figure: "2 October 1973"
2 October 1973
en.wikipedia.org lead sentence, nationality clause
was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner.
en.wikipedia.org lead paragraph, career-highlight sentence
Nurmi set 22 official world records at distances between 1,500 metres and 20 kilometres, and won nine gold and three silver medals in his 12 events in the Summer Olympic Games.
Wikipedia, article summary lead
Paavo Johannes Nurmi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈpÉ‘ËÊ‹o ˈnurmi] ; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner.
Competed In: 1924 Summer Olympics, lead paragraph, competed-in
He set new world records for the 1,500 m and the 5,000 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.
Competed In: 1928 Summer Olympics, lead paragraph, competed-in
At the 1928 Summer Olympics, Nurmi recaptured the 10,000 m title but was beaten for the gold in the 5,000 m and the 3,000 m steeplechase.
Competed In: 1920 Summer Olympics, lead paragraph, competed-in
Nurmi started to flourish during his military service, setting Finnish records in athletics en route to his international debut at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
View the Source 2. Wikidata: Paavo Nurmi
Wikidata Q101942, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
How many Olympic medals and world records did Paavo Nurmi win?
Nine Olympic golds and three silvers in 12 events, plus 22 official world records.
Nurmi set 22 official world records at distances between 1,500 metres and 20 kilometres, and won nine gold and three silver medals in his 12 events in the Summer Olympic Games. The Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner was nicknamed the Flying Finn.
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