Life story

Paavo Nurmi was born on 13 June 1897 in Turku, a port town on the southwestern coast of Finland. In 1912 Hannes Kolehmainen “ran Finland onto the map of the world” at the Olympic Games at Stockholm by winning three gold medals in long-distance events. His races made an indelible impression on the 15-year-old Paavo Nurmi, who decided to do the same. Soon enough, Paavo got his first pair of running shoes and began serious training.

The Olympic Games at Antwerp made Paavo Nurmi a star in Finland, a worthy successor of Hannes Kolehmainen. His first Olympic race, the 5000 metres, ended in bitter defeat to Joseph Guillemot of France. This was to be the only time that Nurmi lost in an Olympic final to a foreign runner, however. In the following days he won gold medals in 10 000 metres and the cross-country race, adding a third one in the team event of the latter.

The Games of the VIIIth Olympiad in Paris in 1924 were the finest hour of Finnish athletics and Paavo Nurmi in particular. In six days Nurmi won five gold medals: three individual ones and two in team events. His most legendary feat was to win the 1500 and the 5000 metres with less than two hours between the two finals. He also won the cross-country race and led Finland to gold medals in the cross-country team competition and the 3000 metres team race. The French magazine Miroir des Sports wrote: “Paavo Nurmi goes beyond the limits of humanity.”

The demanding American tour left its mark on the great runner. Later in 1925 Nurmi raced a few times in Finland but broke no more records. In fact, in the Olympic distances he never did improve from his three world records made in 1924 (3.52,6 in 1500, 14.28,2 in 5000 and 30.06,2 in 10 000 metres). 1926 marked a turning point in Nurmi’s career. A slow decline had started, and his victory margins began to grow thinner.

In autumn 1928, in an interview to a Swedish newspaper, Nurmi said: “This is absolutely my last season on the track. I am beginning to get old. I have raced for fifteen years and have had enough of it.” But he decided to go on, doing most of his running abroad from now on. In 1929 he embarked on his second American tour and in the next year he was back in record-breaking form, setting new world marks in six miles in London in June and in 20 kilometres in Stockholm in September.

Once suspended and branded as a professional, Nurmi was not allowed to compete abroad. The Finnish Athletic Federation never accepted Nurmi’s sentence, however, and he continued to race in the home country until 1934, as a “national amateur”. Paavo Nurmi’s last race was a victory in 10 000 metres at Viipuri on 16 September 1934.

Paavo Nurmi avoided publicity both in business and in private life but when needed he was ready to give service the society and Finnish sports in particular. In the war years his fame was put in good use to rally support for the Finnish cause, especially in America. Early in 1940 Paavo Nurmi went to the United States to raise funds for his country, which was currently waging an uneven war against the Soviet Union. He was accompanied by Taisto Mäki, who had just become the first man to run 10 000 metres inside half an hour. Mäki gave exhibition races, and the proceeds went to the Finnish Relief Fund.

Intelligence, introversion and strong determination to achieve any goal were the main characteristics of Paavo Nurmi’s mental outlook. In his melancholy moments – more frequent in advanced age – he could even question his unparalleled achievements in sport: “Only real work, science and art have any true value.” Paavo Nurmi never retired from his duties. Having recovered from coronary thrombosis in the late 1950′s he worked hard until 1967 when the suffered another attack. In 1968 Nurmi set up a research foundation for coronary disease and public health and provided it with two multi-storey buildings and a substantial amount of money.

Paavo Nurmi has been honoured in various ways. Several books and thousands of articles have been published about him in many countries. After the Paris Olympic Games in 1924 the Finnish Government ordered a statue of him from the most famous sculptor of the country, Wäinö Aaltonen. In 1952 two more copies of the statue were cast from the original mould: one was erected in front of the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, the other in Nurmi’s home town, Turku. In 1983 the original statue, long kept at the National Art Museum, was placed in front of the Faculty of Physical Education of the University of Jyväskylä. In 1994 one more copy was cast and sent to the park of the Museum of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland. Medals and stamps have been issued and streets and even a small planet have been named in honour of Paavo Nurmi. In 1987 the Bank of Finland issued a ten mark note featuring Paavo Nurmi on one side and the Olympic Stadium on the other.