Medal record
Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics.
Men's athletics
Competitor for  Finland
Olympic Games
Gold	1920 Antwerp	10000 m
Gold	1920 Antwerp	Individual cross country
Gold	1920 Antwerp	Cross country team
Gold	1924 Paris	1500 m
Gold	1924 Paris	5000 m
Gold	1924 Paris	Individual cross country
Gold	1924 Paris	5000 m cross country team
Gold	1924 Paris	3000 m team
Gold	1928 Amsterdam	10000 m
Silver	1920 Antwerp	5000 m
Silver	1928 Amsterdam	5000 m
Silver	1928 Amsterdam	3000 m steeplechase

Paavo Johannes Nurmi ( pronunciation (help·info)) (13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish runner. Born in Turku, he was known as one of the "Flying Finns," a term given to him, Hannes Kolehmainen, Ville Ritola, and others for their distinction in running. During the 1920s, Nurmi was the best middle and long distance runner in the world, setting world records at distances between 1500 m and 20 km.

Nurmi won a total of nine gold and three silver medals in the 12 events in which he competed at the Olympic Games from 1920 to 1928. In particular, he won five gold medals at the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris, which is still the most athletics gold medals at one Olympics in the history of the Games. In 1932, Nurmi was unable to compete at the Olympics, as he had received money for his running and was thus considered a professional.

Career[link]

Olympic career[link]

Nurmi debuted at the 1920 Summer Olympics by competing in four events. He won three gold medals: the 10,000 m, the cross country event, and the cross country team event; and he finished second in the 5000 m.

In the 1924, Nurmi won five gold medals in five events, including the 1500 m and the 5000 m. The finals of these two races were only 26 minutes apart. At a try-out earlier the same year to test himself for the Olympic schedule, he had broken the world record in both of these events. He also earned gold medals in the 3000 m team race, and both cross country events. The final of the 10,000 m individual cross country race proved so strenuous it was the last time this cross country event was on the Olympic schedule.^[1] The great heat caused more than half of the competitors to abandon the race, and many had to be taken to hospital. Finnish officials, fearing for his health, refused to enter Nurmi in the 10,000 m event. Thus, he was unable to defend his title. An angry Nurmi protested after returning to Finland by setting a 10,000 m world record that would last for almost 13 years.

Nurmi ended his Olympic career at the 1928 Summer Olympics, winning the 10,000 m and two silver medals (5000 m and 3000 m steeplechase). He travelled to Los Angeles intending to compete in the 1932 Summer Olympics, but accusations by Swedish Olympic officials that the expense money he had received for his successful American tours had been so lavish as to make him a professional were upheld by the International Olympic Committee and he was banned despite the efforts of Finnish officials.^[2]

Nurmi's record of twelve track and field Olympic medals stands to this day. He ties Larisa Latynina, Mark Spitz, and Carl Lewis^[3] with nine Olympic gold medals, second only to Michael Phelps with fourteen.^[4] Nurmi is often considered the greatest track and field athlete of all time. His 12th Olympic medal broke the previous record of 11 set by Carl Osburn at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Nurmi's Olympic medal record would stand until the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, when Edoardo Mangiarotti won his 13th medal in fencing.

During his competitive running career, which lasted from about 1919 to 1934, Nurmi earned a reputation for speaking very little off the track, earning him the nickname "Great Silent One" (Suuri vaikenija) from some contemporary Finns. An illustration of this was his two-word reply to a congratulatory speech during his 1925 tour of the United States which consisted of simply "Thank you!".^[5]

Nurmi was a vegetarian from the age of 12.^[6]

Later life[link]

Nurmi continued to run after the Olympics in Amsterdam with every intent to compete in the 10,000 m and marathon events at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, but he was branded a professional and barred from running in Los Angeles. The main instigators of the ban were the Swedish officials, especially Sigfrid Edström, the president of the IAAF and vice-president of the IOC. Edström claimed that Nurmi had received too much money for his travel expenses to a meet in Germany. This was seen as jealousy by many in Finland and in part led to Finland refusing to participate in the traditional Finland-Sweden international athletics event until 1939.^[5]

However, Nurmi did travel to Los Angeles and kept training at the Olympic Village. Despite pleas from all the entrants of the marathon, Nurmi was not allowed to compete at the Games. Although he had suffered from injuries, he claimed he would have won the marathon by five minutes after the event was over. He had set his heart on ending his career with a marathon gold medal, as his fellow countryman Hannes Kolehmainen had done shortly after the First World War.^[5]

A Finnish national hero, Paavo Nurmi was the lighter of the Olympic Flame at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. In retirement he ran a haberdashery store in Helsinki, and owned a housing construction company which built several houses and apartment buildings around Helsinki.^[5]

Nurmi had a brief marriage with Sylvi Nurmi, from 1932 to 1935. Their son Matti was a Finnish national-level middle-distance runner in the 1950s.

A widely publicized practical joke by students at the Helsinki University of Technology took place in 1961, when a team of students smuggled a statue of Nurmi onto the 300-year-old wreck of the Swedish Regalskeppet Vasa just days before its lifting from the bottom of the sea.^[7]

In his final years, starting around 1967, when he allowed the Finnish President Urho Kekkonen (a personal friend and sports enthusiast) to interview him for his 70th birthday over the Finnish Public Radio YLE, Nurmi gave more newspaper and magazine interviews. Suffering from health problems especially since the late 1960s, with at least one heart attack, a stroke and failing eyesight, he at times spoke bitterly about sports, calling it a waste of time compared to science and art.^[5] Nurmi died in 1973 in Helsinki and was given a state funeral.

Popular Culture[link]

Nurmi is the uncle of the Hollywood B movie actress Vampira, who appeared in Plan 9 from Outer Space among others. She was born Maila Syrjäniemi and later changed to the surname Nurmi. ^[8]

Nurmi is mentioned in The Simpsons episode, "Goo Goo Gai Pan," where Mr. Burns defends the strength of his antique motorcar by declaring, "Did you know that this car once outraced the Flying Finn, Paavo Nurmi?". The most famous Hungarian steam locomotive, the 424, had one of its nicknames after him because of its speed.

Along with Abebe Bikila, Nurmi appears in William Goldman's novel Marathon Man, as one of the protagonist's heroes whom he fantasises encouraging him.

See also[link]

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paavo Nurmi

• Paavo Nurmi 100 years

Records
Preceded by John Zander	Men's 1,500 m World Record Holder 19 June 1924 – 11 September 1926	Succeeded by Otto Peltzer
Preceded by Norman Taber	Men's Mile World Record Holder 23 August 1923 – 4 October 1931	Succeeded by Jules Ladoumègue
Preceded by John Zander	Men's 3,000 m World Record Holder 27 August 1922 – 7 June 1925	Succeeded by Edvin Wide
Preceded by Edvin Wide	Men's 3,000 m World Record Holder 24 May 1926 – 19 June 1932	Succeeded by Janusz Kusociński
Preceded by Jean Bouin	Men's 10,000 m World Record Holder 22 June 1921 – 25 May 1924	Succeeded by Ville Ritola
Preceded by Ville Ritola	Men's 10,000 m World Record Holder 31 August 1924 – 18 July 1937	Succeeded by Ilmari Salminen
Preceded by John Zander	European Record Holder Men's 1500m 19 June 1924 - 10 September 1926	Succeeded by Otto Peltzer
Olympic Games
Preceded by John Mark	Final Summer Olympic Torchbearer with Hannes Kolehmainen Helsinki 1952	Succeeded by Ron Clarke & Hans Wikne

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Medal record
Tapio Rautavaara
Men's athletics
Competitor for  Finland
Olympic Games
Gold	1948 London	Javelin throw

Kaj Tapio (”Tapsa”) Rautavaara (8 March 1915 in Northern Pirkkala, Finland – 25 September 1979 in Helsinki, Finland) was a Finnish athlete, singer and movie actor.

Early life[link]

Tapio Rautavaara was raised by his single mother and his formal education ended at the elementary level. By the outbreak of the Finnish Winter War in 1939, he had worked as a roadworker, a lumberjack and as a storeman at a co-operative mill. His national military service was with the Finnish Navy in the mid 1930's.

War years[link]

When the Winter War broke out the Navy was not very active in the war and Rautavaara was allowed to continue working at the Osuustukkukauppa (OTK) mill. However, when the Continuation War broke out he was called to the army and he was ordered to be the first year of the war in the front line.

In summer 1942 Rautavaara was transferred to the war entertainment troops and worked for two years as a radio journalist on the frontier based Aunus Radio. During this time he became known to the troops. In the summer of 1944 the Finns had to pull out from East Karelia and Rautavaara’s radio career ended.

Career[link]

Music career[link]

Rautavaara was one of the most beloved singers in Finland. Some of his famous songs include Isoisän olkihattu (Grandfather’s Straw Hat), Reppu ja reissumies (The Backback and the Hobo), Korttipakka (The Deck of Cards), Lapin jenkka (The Lappland Schottische), Juokse sinä humma (Run, Horse, Run), Kulkuri ja joutsen (The Tramp and the Swan), Tuopin jäljet (Marks of the Tankard), Sininen uni (Blue Dream) and Anttilan keväthuumaus (Anttila’s Spring Fever).

After the war Rautavaara met Reino Helismaa, who composed and made the lyrics to Reissumies ja kissa (The Trip man and the cat), which became Rautavaara’s first hit. Composer Toivo Kärki joined this team, which produced over the next ten years many popular songs.

In addition, Rautavaara composed and wrote the lyrics for many of his records. Rautavaara received gold records for the songs Isoisän olkihattu (Grandpa's Strawhat), Vain merimies voi tietää (Only a Sailor Could Know) and Häävalssi (The Wedding Waltz). The first song was written and composed by Rautavaara, the second one was composed by him and the lyrics were written by Heikki Saari.

Rautavaara, Helismaa and Esa Pakarinen toured Finland together at the end of the 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s. The touring stopped due to personal problems, but continued for a short period in the 1960s before Helismaa's death in 1965.

By the time of his death in 1979 Rautavaara had recorded 310 songs.

Sports career[link]

Rautavaara was also a very talented athlete. He became the Olympic Champion in the javelin at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London with the result of 69.77 meters and competed successfully in many international javelin competitions. Furthermore, he won a bronze medal with the result of 66.40 meters in the 1946 European Championships in Athletics in Oslo.

He also received the gold medal in the Finnish team in the archery World Championships of 1958.

Rautavaara also won the Finnish Championship in the javelin (1944—45 and 1947—49) and in the archery in 1955.

Acting career[link]

Rautavaara was cast as the protagonist in numerous Finnish films, and was also supposedly a candidate for the part of Tarzan after Johnny Weissmuller had quit his career.

Later years[link]

The peak of Rautavaara’s popularity was in the 1950s, stretching into the early years of the 1960s. After that, his music was left in the shadow of Rautalanka and tango music and the popularity of the television. He continued to perform regularly, however, right up until his death, even though his gigs in the 1970s were in department stores and topping out ceremonies.

Death and tributes[link]

On 25 September 1979 Tapio Rautavaara slipped and fell at the Tikkurila Swimming Center in Vantaa and hit his head on the floor. He was taken to a nearby health center, where his injuries were not taken seriously, as staff believed him to be drunk. His head was bandaged and he was sent home. The next night, he died as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage at his home in Oulunkylä, Helsinki. He was buried in Malmi Cemetery.

Memorial[link]

A memorial by Veikko Myller entitled (Kulkurin uni A Vagabond’s Dream) to the memory of Rautavaara is located in the market square in downtown Oulunkylä, the district of Helsinki, where Rautavaara lived most of his life.

TV documentary and movie[link]

Peter von Bagh created a TV documentary on Rautavaara entitled Tapsa occurring at the time of Rautavaara's death, i.e., in 1979. Timo Koivusalo used Rautavaara's and Helismaa's tours as the basis for his movie Kulkuri ja joutsen in 1999.

Play[link]

In spring 2007 the Nokia Workers’ theater presented a play entitled Sininen uni (The Blue Dream), which was based on the life of Tapio Rautavaara.

Rautavaara's influence on later groups[link]

Ville Valo, the frontman of the Finnish rock band HIM, regards Rautavaara as his greatest idol in Finnish music.

Rautavaara's most renowned recordings[link]

• Päivänsäde ja menninkäinen (The Sunbeam And The Troll), 1949/1965
• Reissumies ja kissa (The Tramp and the Cat), 1949
• Kulkuri ja joutsen (The Tramp and the Swan), 1950
• Isoisän olkihattu (Grandfathers Strawhat), 1951/1963
• Ontuva Eriksson (Limping Eriksson), 1951
• Sininen uni (Blue Dream), 1952
• Juokse sinä humma (Run, Horse), 1953
• Kulkuriveljeni Jan (My Drifter Brother Jan), 1956
• Yölinjalla, (On The Night Line), 1962
• Tuopin jäljet (The Marks of My Tankard), 1963
• En päivääkään vaihtaisi pois (I Wouldn't Change A Day), 1979

Rautavaara's filmography[link]

• Vain sinulle (1945)
• Synnin jäljet (1946)
• Kuudes käsky (1947)
• Kultamitalivaimo (1947)
• Sinut minä tahdon (1949)
• Aila, Pohjolan tytär (1951)
• Rion yö (1951)
• Salakuljettajan laulu (1952)
• Pekka Puupää (1953)
• 2 hauskaa vekkulia (1953)
• Me tulemme taas (1953)
• Kummituskievari (1954)
• Veteraanin voitto (1955)
• Villi Pohjola (1955)
• Kaunis Kaarina (1955)
• Kahden ladun poikki (1958)
• Molskis, sanoi Eemeli, molskis! (1960)
• Tähtisumua (1961)
• X-paroni (1964)
• Anna (1970)

Notes[link]

This article incorporates information from the revision as of 7-15-2007 of the equivalent article on the Finnish Wikipedia.

See also[link]

• List of best-selling music artists in Finland

External links[link]

• http://www.tapiorautavaara.net/
• Tapio Rautavaara at the Internet Movie Database
• A Vagabond’s Dream / Memorial to Tapio Rautavaara.