caption death_date death_place club birth_place weight image_size height sport birth_date image article_title
hannes kolehmainen in 1920 11 january 1966 -lrb- aged 76 -rrb- helsinki , finland helsingin jyry faac , new york kuopio , finland 57 kg lb on 240px 1.68 m ftin on running 9 december 1889 hannes kolehmainen 1920 crop.jpg hannes kolehmainen

hannes kolehmainen

juho pietari `` hannes '' kolehmainen -lrb- ; 9 december 1889 -- 11 january 1966 -rrb- was a finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner .
he was the first in a generation of great finnish long distance runners , often named the `` flying finns '' .
kolehmainen competed for a number of years in the united states , wearing the winged fist of the irish american athletic club .
he also enlisted in the 14th regiment of the national guard of new york , and became a u.s. citizen in 1921 .
kolehmainen , a devoted vegetarian and bricklayer by trade , was from a sportive family from kuopio -- his brothers william and tatu were also strong long distance runners .
tatu competed in two olympics and finished 10th in the marathon in 1920 .
hannes was one of the stars of the 1912 summer olympics in stockholm , winning three gold medals .
his most memorable was the one in the 5000 m .
in that event , he ran a heroic duel with frenchman jean bouin .
after leading the field together for most of the race , bouin was only defeated by kolehmainen in the final metres , in world record time .
in addition , kolehmainen won the 10000 m and the now discontinued cross country event .
with the finnish team , he also obtained a silver place in the cross country team event .
at the time , finland was still a part of russia , and although there was a separate finnish team at the olympics , the russian flag was raised for kolehmainen 's victories , making him say that he `` almost wished he had n't won '' .
kolehmainen 's sportive career was interrupted by the first world war , but he remained an athlete to be reckoned with , although his specialty had now shifted to the longer distances , especially the marathon .
at the first post-war olympics in antwerp , he won the gold medal in this event .
he would also enter the olympic marathon in 1924 , but did not complete that race .
by then , kolehmainen had found a worthy successor in paavo nurmi .
together with nurmi , he lit the olympic flame at the 1952 summer olympics in helsinki .
he died in that same city , fourteen years later .
