The original Flying Finn was Hannes Kolehmainen – also known as Smiling Hannes – who won three gold medals and broke two world records during the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. His most famous victory was in the 5,000 metres, when he won a thrilling duel with the French athlete Jean Bouin in the final few metres. By 1920 he'd moved up to the marathon, adding a fourth gold medal. He had two brothers who were also strong long–distance runners; one of them competed in two Olympics, finishing tenth in the marathon in 1920.
Vilho 'Ville' Ritola was more than a year older than Paavo Nurmi, but he didn't take up running seriously until 1919, when he was 23 years old. He trained in the United States with Kolehmainen, who tried to persuade him to compete for Finland in the 1920 Olympics, but Ritola didn't feel ready. At Paris in 1924 however he won four gold medals and two silver, and in 1928 he won one more in each category.
Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola together dominated men's distance running in the 1920s. At his peak, Nurmi was undefeated for 121 races at distances from 800 metres upwards. He was unbeaten in cross country events, and in the 10,000 metres, throughout his 14–year career.
As well as his nine Olympic gold medals, Nurmi also won three silvers (one in 1920 and two in 1928), making twelve in total. His record of nine Olympic golds was equalled in 1964 by the Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, and also by Mark Spitz in 1972 and Carl Lewis in 1996. It was finally beaten in 2008 by Michael Phelps. Larisa Latynina equalled Nurmi's total of twelve medals in 1960, and surpassed it in 1964.
The tradition (and nickname) of the Flying Finn was taken up half a century later by Lasse Viren, who won gold medals in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at each of the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. Wikipedia lists no fewer than 36 other Flying Finns, including Formula One world champions Mika Häkkinen and Kimi Räikkönen.
© Haydn Thompson 2021