Lasse Virén facts for kids
Lasse Virén c. 1974
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lasse Artturi Virén | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Finnish | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 22 July 1949 Myrskylä, Finland |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 180 cm | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Finland |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics/Track, Long-distance running | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 5000 metres, 10,000 metres, Marathon | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Myrskylän Myrsky | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic finals | 1972 Munich 10,000 m,  Gold
Marathon, 5th 1980 Moscow 10,000 m, 5th |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) is a famous Finnish former long-distance runner. He won four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén became known as one of the "Flying Finns," a nickname for great Finnish runners. Other famous "Flying Finns" include Hannes Kolehmainen, Paavo Nurmi, and Ville Ritola from the 1920s. Lasse Virén was named Finnish Sportsman of the Year in 1972 and 1976. After his running career, he also became a politician. He served as a member of Finland's parliament from 1999 to 2007 and again from 2010 to 2011.
Contents
Lasse Virén: A Running Legend
Early Career and Training
Lasse Virén started his running journey in the United States. He attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He ran for their cross-country team for one season. After that, he returned to his home country, Finland.
Virén was a police officer from Myrskylä, Finland. He first competed on the international stage in 1971. At the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki, another Finnish runner, Juha Väätäinen, won gold medals in both the 5000 and 10,000 metres. Virén finished seventh and 17th in those races. Soon after, he broke Väätäinen's Finnish record in the 5,000 metres.
Before the 1972 Olympics, Virén trained very hard in Thomson's Falls, Kenya. He achieved impressive results, including breaking the 2-mile world record. He also won races against teams from Great Britain and Spain in Helsinki. Because of these strong performances, Lasse Virén was a runner to watch at the Munich Games.
Olympic Glory: Munich 1972
At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Virén won gold medals in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres. In the 10,000 metres final on September 3, Virén set a new world record. This was amazing because he fell during the race! He got tangled with another runner, Emiel Puttemans, in the twelfth lap. Mohamed Gammoudi also fell.
Virén quickly got back up and caught up to the leaders. He had lost about 20 metres but made it up in less than 150 metres. With 600 metres left, Virén started a powerful sprint. Only Puttemans could keep up for a short time. Virén won the race in 27 minutes, 38.35 seconds.
Virén was the fourth athlete to win both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres in the same Olympics. Before him, Hannes Kolehmainen (1912), Emil Zátopek (1952), and Vladimir Kuts (1956) had done it. Later, Miruts Yifter (1980), Kenenisa Bekele (2008), and Mo Farah (2012 and 2016) also achieved this "double."
One week later, in the 5,000 metres final, Virén stayed with top runners like Steve Prefontaine, Gammoudi, Puttemans, and Ian Stewart. He sprinted past Gammoudi near the end and won in 13 minutes, 26.4 seconds. Four days later, he set a new world record for the 5,000 metres in Helsinki, running 13:16.4.
The "Double Double": Montreal 1976
Between the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, Virén's performance was not always at its peak. However, at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, he made history again. He won both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres races for the second time! This amazing achievement was called the "double double." He was the first runner to win the 5,000 metres twice in Olympic history.
He won the 10,000 metres final quite easily. He passed Portugal's Carlos Lopes around 9,550 metres and won by almost five seconds.
After winning the 10,000 metres in Montreal, Virén took off his Onitsuka Tiger (ASICS) Runspark shoes. He waved them to the crowd during his victory lap. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) thought he was trying to show off the shoe brand. But Virén said he had a blister. The IOC first suspended him from the 5,000 metres final. However, after an appeal, he was allowed to race just two hours before it started.
In the 5,000 metres final, he faced strong competitors like Dick Quax, Rod Dixon, and Brendan Foster. Virén ran incredibly fast in the last few laps, leading the whole way. His final 1,500 metres in that race were so fast they would have placed him eighth in the separate 1,500 metres final at those Games. The top four runners finished very close together, within six metres of each other. After these two gold medals, he also ran in the men's marathon. It was his first marathon, and he finished fifth.
Later Career and Retirement
Virén competed in his last Olympics at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He finished fifth in the 10,000 metres final. He had some challenges leading up to these Games, including a leg injury. He decided not to run the 5,000 metres race. Instead, he chose to compete in the Olympic marathon. He started well, even leading the group for over 20 kilometres. But stomach problems forced him to stop before 30 kilometres. In the autumn of 1980, Lasse Virén announced he was retiring from competitive running.
Even outside the Olympics, Virén had great success. After a leg surgery in 1974, he won a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres at the European Championships. He also broke world records for both the 2-mile and 5,000 metres races in 1972, the same year as his first Olympic golds.
Beyond Running: A Politician
After his amazing running career, Lasse Virén became a well-known public figure in Finland. He entered politics and held a seat in the Finnish Parliament. He was a member of the National Coalition Party. He served from 1999 to 2007 and again from 2010 to 2011. He decided not to run for re-election in 2011.
Legacy and Hall of Fame
In 2014, Lasse Virén was honored for his incredible achievements. He was inducted into the International Association of Athletics Federations' Hall of Fame. This recognized him as one of the greatest athletes in track and field history.
See also
In Spanish: Lasse Virén para niños
