Running
The nickname was first used of Hannes Kolehmainen, also known as "Smiling Hannes", as he took home three gold medals and broke two world records during the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. As Finnish runners started to dominate long-distance running, the nickname was passed on to all successful Finns in the sport, including multi-Olympic gold medalists Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola. Nurmi won three gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Belgium and five at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he was partnered with Ritola, who ran to four gold medals. Volmari Iso-Hollo, the winner of 3000 m steeplechase at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics, was one of the best-known Finnish runners in the 1930s and also nicknamed the Flying Finn. During his tour of the United States in 1940, Taisto Mäki - who held five world records - was regularly referred to as a Flying Finn. The last Flying Finn in running was Lasse Virén, who won the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.
Read more about this topic: Flying Finn
Famous quotes containing the word running:
“Frances Stevens: Mother, this is why I’ve had to spend half my life running around the world after you—to keep men like this away from you.
Mrs. Stevens: Well after this, let me run my own interference. It looks like the blockers are having all the fun.”
—John Michael Hayes (b. 1919)
“A young person is a person with nothing to learn
One who already knows that ice does not chill and fire does not burn . . .
It knows it can spend six hours in the sun on its first
day at the beach without ending up a skinless beet,
And it knows it can walk barefoot through the barn
without running a nail in its feet. . . .
Meanwhile psychologists grow rich
Writing that the young are ones’ should not
undermine the self-confidence of which.”
—Ogden Nash (1902–1971)
“This our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in every thing.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)