Lasse Virén

Lasse Virén, born on 22 July 1949, is a Finnish former long-distance runner and the winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. At Munich in 1972 he won both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres, setting a world record in the 10,000 m despite falling in the twelfth lap, and in 1976 he won both events again, a feat later called the double double, becoming the first repeat winner of the Olympic 5,000 metres. His image revived that of the Flying Finns of the 1920s such as Hannes Kolehmainen, Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola. He began his running career in the United States at Brigham Young University, was a police officer from Myrskylä, and trained in Thomson's Falls, Kenya. He was elected Finnish Sportsman of the Year in 1972 and 1976 and later sat in the Finnish parliament in 1999 to 2007 and 2010 to 2011.