1924 OLYMPICS PAAVO NURMI OF FIN

1924: Paavo Nurmi of Finland crosses the finish line to win a race at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. In the history of athletics no man has taken so many prizes, set world records and changed the attitude to running as Nurmi. His 22 world records ranged from 1500 metres to 20 kilometres, and caused much re-thinking about the way to build up strength and then conserve it during races. For much of his career, Nurmi trained and raced with a stop watch in hand, believing that pace judgement was a crucial factor in achieving the optimum performance. In the Games of 1924 and 1928 he won ten gold medals and three silver medals and would probably have added to that collection in the marathon at Los Angeles in 1932, had he not been disqualified from athletics for alleged professionalism just before the Games. The decision embittered him but that was eased when he was allowed to run in domestic competition, and by the roar which greeted him when at the age of 55 he ran into the Olympic Stadium at Helsinki in 1952 with the Olympic torch to light the flame at the opening ceremony for the Games of the 15th Olympiad. Mandatory Credit: IOC/Allsport