Lasse Virén

Lasse Artturi Virén was born on 22 July 1949. He is a Finnish former long-distance runner who won four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén revived the "Flying Finn" tradition associated with runners such as Hannes Kolehmainen, Paavo Nurmi, and Ville Ritola from the 1920s. He was named Finnish Sportsman of the Year in 1972 and 1976, and later served in Finland's parliament from 1999 to 2007 and again from 2010 to 2011.

Virén started his running career at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he ran for the varsity cross-country team for one season before returning to Finland. A police officer from Myrskylä, he made his international debut in 1971 at the European Championships in Helsinki. There, his results were overshadowed by fellow Finn Juha Väätäinen, who won gold in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres, while Virén placed seventh and 17th, respectively. Virén and his coach, Rolf Haikkola, believed he could have done better if he had performed an "emptying exercise" earlier—pushing his body to total exhaustion to restore energy—and if he had not been nearly pushed over at the start of the last lap of the 5,000 metres final. Shortly after those championships, he broke Väätäinen's Finnish record in the 5,000 metres.

Following a brutal training regimen in Thomson's Falls, Kenya, and strong results—including a world record in the 2-mile and wins against Great Britain and Spain in Helsinki in summer 1972—Virén entered the Munich Olympics as a dark horse.

At the 1972 Munich Games, he won both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres. In the 10,000 metres final on 3 September, he broke Ron Clarke's seven-year-old world record despite falling in the twelfth lap after tangling with Emiel Puttemans; Mohamed Gammoudi also fell after being tripped by Virén's legs. Within 150 metres, Virén caught the leading pack after losing about 20 metres. With 600 metres to go, he launched a long kick that only Puttemans could match, winning in 27:38.35. Virén became the fourth athlete to win both events at the same Olympics, following Hannes Kolehmainen (1912), Emil Zátopek (1952), and Vladimir Kuts (1956). Later, Miruts Yifter (1980), Kenenisa Bekele (2008), and Mo Farah (2012 and 2016) also achieved this double. Only Kolehmainen, Virén, and Yifter had to run heats to qualify for the 10,000 metres final. In the 5,000 metres final a week later, Virén kept pace with Steve Prefontaine, Gammoudi, Puttemans, and Ian Stewart during the fast final four laps, sprinting past Gammoudi with about 110 to 120 metres to go to win in 13:26.4, one second ahead. Four days later, in wet, chilly, and windy conditions at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, he set a new world record in the 5,000 metres at 13:16.4. Six days later, Puttemans broke that record by 3.4 seconds. A little-noticed factor in Virén's victories was his careful running of bends near the inner edge of the first lane, saving him tens of metres compared to rivals. For example, Prefontaine gave Virén an advantage of over 40 metres in the 5,000 metres, and Puttemans gave about 50 metres in the 10,000 metres, by running bends wide on the outer edge of the first lane or on the second lane—a practice called "bend mathematics."

Between the Olympics, Virén ran at lower levels. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, he won both events again, becoming the first repeat winner of the 5,000 metres in Olympic history (later joined by Mo Farah). He won the 10,000 metres final relatively easily, as Brendan Foster dropped from the pace set by Carlos Lopes at 8,000 metres, and Lopes could not increase his pace in the last lap. Virén passed Lopes at about 9,550 metres and won by 4.79 seconds. After the 10,000 metres final, he took off his Onitsuka Tiger (ASICS) Runspark shoes and waved them to the crowd on his victory lap. The IOC accused him of malicious intent, such as showing the tiger stripe logo, but Virén claimed he had a blister. The IOC suspended him from the 5,000 metres final after he qualified in his heat, but an appeal allowed him to enter the race two hours before the start. In the 5,000 metres final, he held off Dick Quax, Rod Dixon, and Brendan Foster with a strong front-running display over the last laps. His last 1,500 metres in that final would have placed him eighth in the 1,500 metres final at those Games. The top four runners finished within six metres of each other. He also competed in the marathon for the first time, finishing fifth in 2:13:11.