Flying Finns

The original Flying Finn was Hannes Kolehmainen, who won three gold medals at the Stockholm Olympics of 1912. At Paris in 1924, there were two Flying Finns: as well as Nurmi's five golds, Ville Ritola won four golds and two silvers. He also beat Nurmi into second place in the 5,000m at Paris in 1924, and finished second behind Nurmi in the 10,000m. Volmari Iso–Hollo won the 3,000m in 1932 and 1936, and Taisto Maki held five world records in the 1940s. Finally, Lasse Virén won the 5,000m and the 10,000m in both 1972 and 1976.

Several motor racing drivers have also been known as the Flying Finn, including Keke Rosberg, Mika Häkkinen and Kimi Räikkönen.

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