Portal:Sport of athletics/Selected biography/16

Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Paavo Johannes Nurmi (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈpɑːʋo ˈnurmi] ; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn" because he dominated distance running in the 1920s. 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. 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 metres. (Full article...)

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