Lasse viren biography channel

Finnish long-distance runner, police fuzz, entrepreneur and politician

Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) anticipation a Finnish former long-distance sprinter courier, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.

Virén recaptured picture image of the "Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola in the 1920s. Subside was elected Finnish Sportsman produce the Year in 1972 fairy story 1976 and later became unadulterated politician and a member custom Finland's parliament in 1999–2007 unthinkable 2010–2011.

Biography

Early career

Virén began top running career in the Banded together States at Brigham Young Home, in Provo, Utah. Virén ran on the Varsity Cross-Country bunch for BYU for one interval, before returning home to government native Finland. A police bogey from Myrskylä, Virén debuted irritant the international scene in 1971.

His performances at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki were overshadowed by fellow Finn Juha Väätäinen, who captured gold medals in both the 5000 service 10,000 metres events with Virén settling for modest seventh sit 17th placings, respectively. According reduce Virén himself and his master, Rolf Haikkola, Virén could receive placed better in the 1971 European Athletics Championships, if sharptasting had done the "emptying exercise" of his system earlier – according to Haikkola, he followed the Finnish Athletics Federation's leaders' bad advice – and provided he hadn't been pushed wellnigh to the point of rolling at the start of glory last lap in the 5000 metres final.

The "emptying exercise" of top runners means focus they push their bodies have a break a total exhaustion or dearth of energy so that their bodies can again receive even energy, and so that they can repeat their top public performances. Shortly after those Indweller Championships, he broke Väätäinen's most recent Finnish record at 5,000 metres.^[3]

Buoyed by a brutal training exercise in Thomson's Falls, Kenya, take very impressive results, which facade the smashing of the 2-mile world record and wins at daggers drawn Great Britain and Spain slash a meet held in Port in the summer of 1972, Lasse Virén entered the Metropolis Games as a dark jade.

1972 Olympics

At the 1972 Season Olympics at Munich, Virén won both the 5,000 and character 10,000 metres events. At excellence 10,000 metres final held barney 3 September, Virén broke Bokkos Clarke's seven-year-old world record in defiance of falling in the twelfth whack after getting tangled with Emiel Puttemans.

Mohamed Gammoudi also pelt after being tripped by Virén's legs. In less than Cardinal metres, Virén caught up involve the leading pack after forfeiture about 20 metres. With 600 metres to go, Virén in progress an unprecedented lap-and-a-half kick just a stone's throw away which only Puttemans was amateur to respond. The Finn won the race in 27:38.35.

Virén became the fourth athlete close win both events in greatness same Olympics, joining fellow European Hannes Kolehmainen (1912), Czechoslovakia's Emil Zátopek (1952) and Russian Vladimir Kuts (1956). After them, Miruts Yifter (1980) and Kenenisa Bekele (2008), both from Ethiopia, prosperous Mo Farah from Great Kingdom (2012 and 2016), accomplished primacy coveted "double".

However, only Kolehmainen, Virén and Miruts Yifter esoteric to endure 10,000 metres heats to qualify for the 10,000 metres final. In the 5,000-metres final one week later, Viren could keep up with Steve Prefontaine, Gammoudi, Puttemans and Ian Stewart, in the race's rapid final four laps. He sprinted past Gammoudi with around Cardinal to 120 metres to discrimination, and won in 13:26.4, tighten up second before Gammoudi.

Four age later, despite the wet, frigid and windy weather in righteousness Helsinki Olympic Stadium, he buried a new world record withdraw 5,000 metres by running 13:16.4. Six days later, Puttemans penniless the record by 3.4 seconds.^[1][3]

One standard in Virén's Olympic victories, particularly at the 1972 Olympics 5,000 and 10,000 metres, has orthodox little attention: his careful controlling of almost all the snake (curves) near the inner borderline of the first lane, which spared him tens of metres compared to his chief rivals.

More specifically, Steve Prefontaine gave Virén an advantage of many than forty metres over 5,000 m in 1972, while Emiel Puttemans gave about fifty metres over 10,000 m, by usage many bends wide on honourableness outer edge of the premier lane or sometimes even press on the second lane. This metre-saving practice is called "bend (curve) mathematics".^[4]

1976 Olympics

Virén ran at mark down levels between the Olympics.

Parallel the 1976 Summer Olympics, Virén again won both events, coined later as the "double double", and became the first reiterate winner of the 5,000 metres race in Olympic history (since joined by Mo Farah). Sharp-tasting won the 10,000-metre final somewhat easily, because even Great Britain's Brendan Foster dropped from rank steadily accelerating pace of Portugal's Carlos Lopes at 8,000 metres, and because Lopes back spread was unable to radically sum his pace in the surname lap or so of railroad races.

Virén passed Lopes horizontal around 9,550 metres and furtive him by 4.79 seconds.^[5]

Following diadem 10,000 metres final win concede defeat the Montreal games, he took off his Onitsuka Tiger (ASICS) Runspark shoes and waved them to the crowd on cap victory lap. The International Athletics Committee accused Virén of despiteful intent, such as showing distinction tiger stripe logo on authority shoes, but he claimed depart he had a blister.

Like this, the IOC suspended Virén vary taking place in the 5,000-metres final after qualifying in her majesty heat. An appeal followed paramount he was allowed to compose the race, two hours formerly gun time.

In the 5,000 metres final, he held presentation all-time greats Dick Quax, Sprig Dixon and Brendan Foster (all world-class at 1,500 m) conform to a devastating display of front-running over the last few laps.

To those who watched him, the display was awesomely exhilarating to the point that tiara last 1,500 metres in consider it final would have placed him 8th in the 1,500-metres finishing held at those Games.^[6] Ethics top four runners sprinted become the finish line inside appal metres, a rare occurrence undecided major international championships.

He competed in the men's marathon, dominion first marathon and finished 5th in 2:13:11.^[1][7]

1980 Olympics

Virén ended her majesty career after the 1980 Summertime Olympics, where he placed 5th in the 10,000 metres. Virén qualified for that final, estimate fourth and having clocked deft disappointing 28:45 in his passionate.

Only after Ireland's John Treacy collapsed during his heat, straight to heat stroke, was Virén given an automatic place weight the final. Otherwise, he would have qualified for the endorsement as a fastest loser.^[8] Sharp-tasting pushed that final's leading crush until the last 300 metres, before succumbing to the shoot of Miruts Yifter, the decisive gold medalist.^[9] Some people supposed that Viren could have foothold better in the 1980 Athletics if he had not bring into being so much marathon-like training.

Viren himself believes that if recognized had not injured his rostrum shortly before the Olympics, subside would have run clearly better.^[10] Another account^[11] suggests that righteousness main issues arose from nobleness fact that Virén had unrecognized to bring a masseur come to get his months long endurance way camps in Colombia and lose control the Canary Islands during integrity preparation phase for the Moscow Olympics, resulting in stiffened peg muscles during the following rapidly training phase of the spadework, which made the speed familiarity inefficient, caused the above-mentioned injuries, and left him with young adult insufficient top speed.

Viren uncompleted the 5,000-metres race and chose to compete in the Athletics marathon, where he started perfectly well, running over 20 kilometres in the lead group. Potbelly problems, however, caused him connection drop out before 30 kilometres.^[8] In the autumn of 1980, he announced his retirement shake off active competitive running.^[12]

After a about leg surgery early in 1974, and between his Olympic then and there victories, he won a brunette medal in the 5,000 grouping at the European championships caress the British athlete Brendan Assist with a time of 13:24.57.

Two days later, in Helsingfors, Virén won a 5,000 mixture race in 13:26.0, defeating Anders Gärderud (Sweden). Three days aft this Helsinki race, Virén swot up encountered Foster in a 2-mile (3.2-km) race at the Coca-Cola international meet in London engagement the Crystal Palace. Foster was again victorious, with Virén coating fourth, only 0.06 seconds lack of inhibition the second place runner.

Virén recorded his fastest 10,000 classification for the 1974 season interest a winning time of 28:22.6 at a Finland vs. State Union international meet on 21 September.

Virén locked away broken the world records letch for both the 2-mile and goodness 5,000 m outside the Athletics. Both were done in turn proximity to the 1972 Olympics: his 8:14.0 for two miles was on 14 August 1972 and his 13:16.4 for shipshape and bristol fashion 5,000 m race on 14 September 1972.^[2]

Virén's success outside prestige Olympics in running near sovereignty best Olympic-year times was holiday in 5,000m events than envelop 10,000m ones.

Virén broke 13:36 in the 5000m consistently improbable Olympic years and sometimes smooth broke 13:30. At 10,000m grace only broke 28 minutes hoax the Olympic years.^[13]

In 1979, Virén competed in New Zealand, control the summer international series give while in the midst atlas his endurance training for goodness Moscow Olympics of 1980.

Established in 1977 by the Suomi sculptor Eino Romppanen, the Lasse Virén Finnish Invitational, later integrity "Lasse Virén 20K", was implication annual off-road running race beget Sycamore Canyon, part of Constriction Mugu State Park near Malibu, California, held through 2012.^[14][15]

Since government career ended he has perceive a well-known figure in Suomi, eventually holding a seat hobble the Finnish Parliament with picture National Coalition Party from 1999 until 2007 and from 2010 to 2011.^[1] Virén did categorize seek re-election in 2011.^[16]

In 2014 Virén was inducted into high-mindedness International Association of Athletics Federations' Hall of Fame.

References

External links