Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner and coach (died 1973)

Paavo Nurmi

Finnish middle and long distance runner (1897–1973)

Paavo Johannes Nurmi was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" because he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world records at distances between 1,500 metres and 20 kilometres, and won nine gold and three…