Paavo Nurmi

DOB: 13/6/1897 Events: Long distance running Medals:Nine golds, three silvers Flag: FIN

One of the 'Flying Finns' that dominated distance running in the early part of the 20th Century, Nurmi still holds an Olympic record 12 total medals in athletics. Nurmi burst onto the Olympic in 1920 in Antwerp as he won gold in the 10,000 metres as well as both the individual and team cross-country events. Compatriot Hannes Kolehmainen had started the golden era of Finnish distance running with three gold medals in the last Games before World War I in 1912 but it would soon be clear that a new star had emerged. Nurmi's 1924 campaign in Paris will be remembered as one of the greatest Olympic efforts in history as he dominated the distance and cross-country events as well as taking gold in the 1,500m. Less than 45 minutes after he had won the 1,500m, Nurmi took the track again to take gold in the 5,000m and complete a remarkable double. The only sore point was his omission from the 10,000m, an event in which fellow Finn Ville Ritola took gold, but Nurmi came away from the Games having won every event in which he competed. He gained his revenge by edging out Ritola to take gold in the 10,000m four years later in Amsterdam, but was beaten by his rival in the 5,000m and also lost to another Finn, Toivo Loukola, in the 3,000m steeplechase. He hoped to end his career by competing in the marathon at the 1932 Olympics but was banned from running after it was ruled that travel payments had made him a professional. But Nurmi's record of nine gold medals remained in place across all sports (it would later be equalled by Larisa Latynina, Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis) until Michael Phelps surpassed it 80 years later in Beijing.