Nurmi, Paavo

Nurmi, Paavo (pä'vō noor'mē) [key], 1897–1973, Finnish track star. Between 1920 and 1932 he set 20 world running records and won nine Olympic gold medals. His Olympic victories included the 10,000-meter run and the cross-country event at Antwerp in 1920, the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter and cross-country runs at Paris in 1924, and the 10,000-meter run at Amsterdam in 1928. In addition, he won three gold medals in team events. He was disqualified from the 1932 Olympic games because of violations of the amateur athletic code; he later became wealthy as a sporting goods merchant.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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