Sports History On This Day: June 9

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June 9, 1930 – The “Flying Finn,” Paavo Nurmi ran 6 miles at a world record pace of 29:36.4. Just to place that into perspective, the current official world records in the 10,000 meters are held by Kenenisa Bekele with 26:17.53 minutes for men and Almaz Ayana from Ethiopia with 29:17.45 minutes for women.

The Finnish runner, Paavo back in his day dominated distance running in the early 20th century. Nurmi had at one point set 22 official world records at distances between 1500 meters and 20 kilometers! The great athlete also took home nine gold and three silver medals in his twelve events in the Summer Olympic Games he competed.

At his athletic peak, Nurmi was undefeated for 121 races at distances from 800 meters and longer. Throughout his 14-year career, he remained unbeaten in cross country events and the 10,000 meters.

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scene from a Panathenaic amphora depicting long-distance runners
The photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of a scene from a Panathenaic amphora depicting long-distance runners. The original image which was scanned can be located in Gardiner, E. Norman (1864-1930), Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals, London. Special thanks to the resources of Newspapers.com and OnThisDay.com for the information obtained.

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