Paavo Nurmi in US Kinograms Newsreel 1924; 9-Time Olympic Gold Medalist
more at
http://sports.quickfound.net
"
Flying Finn"
Paavo Nurmi, after winning 5 gold medals at the
1924 Paris Olympics, has arrived in the
United States for the first time. Newsreel footage.
Public domain film from the
Prelinger Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The film was silent. I have added music created by myself using the
Reaper Digital Audio Workstation and the
Independence and
Proteus VX
VST instrument plugins.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/
3.0/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paavo_Nurmi
Paavo Johannes Nurmi (About this sound pronunciation (help·info)) (13 June 1897 -- 2
October 1973) was a Finnish middle and long distance runner. He was nicknamed as the "Flying Finn" as he dominated distance running in the early
20th century. Nurmi set 22 official world records at distances between
1,500 metres and
20 kilometres, and won a total of nine gold and three silver medals in his twelve events in the
Olympic Games. At his peak, Nurmi was undefeated at distances from
800 m upwards for 121 races. Throughout his 14-year career, he remained unbeaten in cross country events and the
10,000 m.
Born into a worker family, Nurmi left school at the age of 12 to provide for his family. In 1912, he was inspired by the
Olympic feats of
Hannes Kolehmainen and began developing a strict training program. Nurmi started to flourish during his military service, setting national records en route to his international debut at the
1920 Summer Olympics. After a silver medal in the
5,000 m, he took gold in the 10,000 m and the cross country events. In 1923, Nurmi became the first, and so far only, runner to hold the mile, the 5,000 m and the 10,000 m world records at the same time. He went on to set new world records for the
1,500 m and the 5,000 m with just an hour between the races, and take gold medals in the distances in less than two hours at the
1924 Olympics. Seemingly untouched by the
Paris heat wave, Nurmi won all his races and returned home with five gold medals, but embittered, as Finnish officials had refused to enter him for the 10,000 m.
Struggling with injuries and motivational issues after his exhaustive
U.S. tour in 1925, Nurmi found his long-time rivals
Ville Ritola and
Edvin Wide ever more serious challengers. At the
1928 Summer Olympics, Nurmi recaptured the 10,000 m title but was beaten to the gold in the 5,000 m and the
3,000 m steeplechase. He then turned his attention to longer distances, breaking the world records for events such as the one hour run and the 25-mile marathon. Nurmi intended to end his career on a marathon gold medal, as his idol Kolehmainen had done. In a controversial case that strained Finland--Sweden relations and sparked an inter-IAAF battle, Nurmi was suspended before the 1932
Games by an
IAAF council that questioned his amateur status. Two days before the opening ceremonies, the council rejected his entries. Although he was never declared a professional, Nurmi's suspension became definite in 1934 and he retired from running.
Nurmi later coached Finnish runners, raised funds for
Finland during the
Winter War, and worked as a haberdasher, building contractor and share trader, eventually becoming one of
Finland's richest people. In
1952, he was the lighter of the
Olympic Flame at the
Summer Olympics in
Helsinki. Nurmi's speed and elusive personality spawned nicknames such as the "
Phantom Finn", while his achievements, training methods and running style influenced future generations of middle and long distance runners. Nurmi, who rarely ran without a stopwatch in his hand, has been credited for introducing the "even pace" strategy and analytic approach to running, and for making running a major international sport
...