Nurmi, Paavo

Nurmi, Paavo (pä`vō nr`mē), 1897–1973, Finnish track star. Between 1920 and 1932 he set 20 world running records and won nine Olympic gold medals. His Olympic victories included the 10,000-meter run and the cross-country event at Antwerp in 1920, the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter and cross-country runs at Paris in 1924, and the 10,000-meter run at Amsterdam in 1928. In addition, he won three gold medals in team events. He was disqualified from the 1932 Olympic games because of violations of the amateur athletic code; he later became wealthy as a sporting goods merchant.

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Nurmi, Paavo (Johannes)

Paavo Nurmi, 1931.

(credit: UPI)

(born June 13, 1897, Turku, Fin.—died Oct. 2, 1973, Helsinki) Finnish track athlete. The outstanding long-distance runner of his generation, he captured nine gold medals and three silver in three Olympic Games (1920, 1924, 1928), setting two records at the 1924 games in a little over an hour. He held the world record for the mile run for eight years (1923–31). For his prowess he was nicknamed “the Flying Finn.”