Home > Lasse Virén

Born in Myrskylä, Finland, Lasse Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns" promulgated by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paavo Nurmi, and Ville Ritola in the 1920s.

A police officer from Myrskylä, Virén debuted on the international scene in 1971. At the 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich, Virén won both the 5000 meters and the 10,000 meters, setting a world record despite falling in the latter event. He became the fourth athlete to win both events in the same Olympics, joining Nurmi, Emil Zátopek, and Volodymyr Kuts.

Virén ran with success between the Olympics. At the 1976 Summer Olympics, Virén again won both events, becoming the repeat winner of the 5000 meters race. His wins were not without controversy. First, in the 10,000 meters, he carried his shoes with him on his victory lap. The International Olympic CommitteeAlternative meanings at IOC (disambiguation The International Olympic Committee is an organization created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 to reinstate the Ancient Olympic Games held in Greece, and organize this sports event every four years. The IOC recei accused Virén of malicious intent, such as showing the logo on the shoes, but he explained that he had a blister. Additionally, Virén was involved in the then-legal practice of blood boostingBlood Boosting is a means to improve athletic performace through manipulation of blood chemistry/composition, timed around athletic events. Methods The practice most commonly known as blood boosting involves removal of plasma about two months before the e which involved freezing blood then having it returned to the body later to improve the oxygen content.

Lasse Virén ended his career after the 1980 Summer OlympicsThe Games of the XXII Olympiad were held in 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union. It was the first the Olympics were held in a socialist country. Moscow won out over Los Angeles for the right to host the games, though L. was to host the next Olympics. American-le, where he placed fifth in the 10,000 meters.

Since his career ended, he has become a well known figure in Finland, even winning a seat in the Finnish ParliamentThe Eduskunta in Finnish, or the Riksdag in Swedish, is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and is located in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. History When the unicameral parliament was established in 1906, Finland was an.