Harri Larva

Harri Larva (born Harry Edvin Lagerström, 9 September 1906 – 11 November 1980) was a Finnish athlete, winner of the 1500 m at the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Born in Turku, Harry Larva was forced to change his last name from Lagerström to Larva in 1928 by a young president of Finnish Athletics Union and known nationalist, Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, because his name did not sound sufficiently Finnish.

Larva, a Finnish champion in the 800 m from 1928 to 1930 and in 1934, won only one bronze (1927) in his favourite distance 1500 m at the Finnish Championships. Larva's best year was in 1928, when he ran all his best performances in distances from 400 m to a mile.

At the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, in the 1500 m. final, Larva fought a great battle against Frenchman Jules Ladoumègue, and surprisingly won in a time of 3:53.2. Larva competed also at the 1932 Summer Olympics and finished 10th in the 1500 m.

Olympic Champions in Men's 1500 m
  • 1896: Edwin Flack (AUS)
  • 1900: Charles Bennett (GBR)
  • 1904: James Lightbody (USA)
  • 1908: Mel Sheppard (USA)
  • 1912: Arnold Jackson (GBR)
  • 1920: Albert Hill (GBR)
  • 1924: Paavo Nurmi (FIN)
  • 1928: Harri Larva (FIN)
  • 1932: Luigi Beccali (ITA)
  • 1936: Jack Lovelock (NZL)
  • 1948: Henry Eriksson (SWE)
  • 1952: Josy Barthel (LUX)
  • 1956: Ron Delany (IRL)
  • 1960: Herb Elliott (AUS)
  • 1964: Peter Snell (NZL)
  • 1968: Kip Keino (KEN)
  • 1972: Pekka Vasala (FIN)
  • 1976: John Walker (NZL)
  • 1980: Sebastian Coe (GBR)
  • 1984: Sebastian Coe (GBR)
  • 1988: Peter Rono (KEN)
  • 1992: Fermín Cacho (ESP)
  • 1996: Noureddine Morceli (ALG)
  • 2000: Noah Ngeny (KEN)
  • 2004: Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)
  • 2008: Asbel Kiprop (KEN)
  • 2012: Taoufik Makhloufi (ALG)
Persondata
Name Larva, Harri
Alternative names Lagerström, Harry Edvin
Short description Finnish middle distance runner
Date of birth 9 September 1906
Place of birth
Date of death 11 November 1980
Place of death