Lasse Virén
Encyclopedia
Lasse Artturi Virén (born July 22, 1949) is a former Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

 and 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

. Born in Myrskylä
Myrskylä
Myrskylä is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns
Flying Finn (athlete)
"The Flying Finn" is a nickname given to several Finnish athletes. Originally, it was given to several Finnish middle and long-distance runners...

" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen
Hannes Kolehmainen
Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen was a Finnish long-distance runner. He is considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish long distance runners, often named the "Flying Finns". Kolehmainen competed for a number of years in the United States, wearing the Winged Fist of the Irish...

, Paavo Nurmi
Paavo Nurmi
Paavo Johannes Nurmi was a Finnish runner. Born in Turku, he was known as one of the "Flying Finns," a term given to him, Hannes Kolehmainen, Ville Ritola, and others for their distinction in running...

, and Ville Ritola
Ville Ritola
Vilho Eino Ritola was a Finnish athlete, specialised in the long distance events. In the 1920s, he won 8 Olympic medals...

 in the 1920s.

Early career

A police officer from Myrskylä
Myrskylä
Myrskylä is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....

, Virén debuted on the international scene in 1971. His performances at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki were overshadowed by fellow Finn Juha Väätäinen
Juha Väätäinen
Juha Väätäinen is a former Finnish athlete. He is the winner of the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter gold medals at the 1971 European Championships held in Helsinki. He was the eldest of the successful Finnish runners Lasse Virén, Pekka Vasala, Tapio Kantanen, Martti Vainio, and Kaarlo Maaninka who...

, who captured gold medals in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter events with Virén settling for modest 7th and 17th placings, respectively. According to Viren himself and his coach, Rolf Haikkola, Viren could have placed better in the 1971 European Athletics Championships, if he had done the "emptying exercise" of his system earlier - according to Haikkola, he followed the Finnish Athletics Federation's leaders' bad advice - and if he hadn't been pushed almost to the point of falling at the start of the last lap in the 5,000-metre final. The "emptying exercise" of top runners means that they push their bodies to a total exhaustion or lack of energy so that their bodies can again receive much energy, and so that they can repeat their top race performances. Shortly after those European Championships, he broke Väätäinen's fresh Finnish record at 5,000 metres.

Buoyed by a brutal training regimen in Thomson's Falls
Thomson's Falls
Thomson's Falls is a 74 m scenic waterfall on the Ewaso Narok river, which drains from the Aberdare Mountain Range. It is situated near the town Nyahururu in central Kenya, at 2,360 m elevation. 1883 Joseph Thomson was the first European to reach Thomson Falls, and named them for his father...

, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, and very impressive results, which included the smashing of the 2-mile world record
Two miles
The 2 mile is a historic running distance. Like the mile run, it is still contested at some invitational meets, perhaps because it provides an easier record to break for meet promoters , as well as its historical chronology. It is largely superseded by the 3000 m and 5000 m, and by the 3200m in...

 and wins against Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 in a meet held in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

 in the summer of 1972, Lasse Virén entered the Munich Games as a dark horse
Dark horse
Dark horse is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort.-Origin:The term began as horse racing parlance...

.

1972

At the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

 at Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, Virén won both the 5,000 and the 10,000 meter events. At the 10,000 meter final held on September 3, Virén broke Ron Clarke
Ron Clarke
Ronald William "Ron" Clarke, MBE is a former Australian athlete, writer, and current Mayor of the Gold Coast. He is one of the best known middle and long distance runners in the 1960s, notable for setting seventeen world records.- Early life and family :He attended Melbourne High School...

's 7-year old world record despite falling in the twelfth lap after getting tangled with Emiel Puttemans
Emiel Puttemans
Emiel Puttemans is a retired middle- and long-distance runner, who set world records for 3000 metres in 1972, for 2 miles in 1971, and for 5000 metres in 1972....

. Tunisia's Mohamed Gammoudi also fell after being tripped by Viren's legs. In less than 150 metres, Virén caught up with the leading pack after losing about 20 to 30 meters. With 600 meters to go, Virén dropped the hammer and started an unprecedented lap-and-a-half kick that only Belgium's Emiel Puttemans
Emiel Puttemans
Emiel Puttemans is a retired middle- and long-distance runner, who set world records for 3000 metres in 1972, for 2 miles in 1971, and for 5000 metres in 1972....

 was able to respond to, but not outmatch. The Finn won the race in 27:38:40 (which is still the current record for the Olympiastadion
Olympic Stadium (Munich)
Olympiastadion is a stadium located in Munich, Germany. Situated at the heart of the Olympiapark München in northern Munich, the stadium was built as the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics....

). He became the fourth athlete to win both events in the same Olympics, joining fellow Finn Hannes Kolehmainen
Hannes Kolehmainen
Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen was a Finnish long-distance runner. He is considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish long distance runners, often named the "Flying Finns". Kolehmainen competed for a number of years in the United States, wearing the Winged Fist of the Irish...

 (1912), Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

's Emil Zátopek
Emil Zátopek
Emil Zátopek was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final medal came when he decided at the last minute to compete in the first marathon of his life...

 (1952) and Russian Vladimir Kuts
Vladimir Kuts
Vladimir Petrovich Kuts was a Soviet long distance runner. He is alternatively known as Volodymyr Kuts, the Ukrainian spelling, as Kuts was born in Aleksino, which is in present-day Ukraine....

 (1956). After them, Miruts Yifter
Miruts Yifter
Miruts Yifter ]] is a former Ethiopian athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. His name is also sometimes spelled as Muruse Yefter....

 (1980) and Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who holds the world record and Olympic record in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events...

 (2008), both from Ethiopia, accomplished the coveted "double". However, it must be stated that Kolehmainen, Virén (on both occasions) and Yifter were the only ones in this illustrious list that had to endure 10,000 meter heats to qualify for the 10,000 meter final, thus making winning the "double" more challenging. In the 5,000-metre final one week later, Viren could keep up with Steve Prefontaine of the United States, Gammoudi, Puttemans and Ian Stewart of Great Britain, in the race's quick final four laps. He sprinted past Gammoudi with around 110 to 120 metres to go, and won in 13:26.4, one second before Gammoudi. Four days later, despite the wet, chilly and windy weather in Helsinki's Olympic Stadium, he set a new world record at 5,000 metres by running 13:16.4. About one week later, Puttemans broke the record by roughly three seconds.

1976

Virén ran at lower levels between the Olympics. At the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

, Virén again won both events, coined later as the "double double", and became the only repeat winner of the 5,000 meter race in Olympic history. He won the 10,000-metre final comparatively easily, because even Great Britain's Brendan Foster dropped from the steadily accelerating pace of Portugal's Carlos Lopes at 8,000 metres, and because Lopes back then was unable to radically increase his pace in the last lap or so of track races. Virén passed Lopes at around 9,550 metres and defeated him by 4.79 seconds. In the 5,000 meter final, he held off all-time greats Dick Quax
Dick Quax
Theodorus Jacobus Leonardus "Dick" Quax is a New Zealand runner and former world record holder in the 5000 metres. He stood for Parliament with the ACT Party in 1999 and 2002...

, Rod Dixon
Rod Dixon
Rodney Phillip "Rod" Dixon is a former New Zealand middle distance runner. He won the bronze medal over 1500 metres at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, and in 1983 won the prestigious New York City Marathon.-Biography:...

, and Brendan Foster
Brendan Foster
Brendan Foster CBE is a British former distance runner, entrepreneur and the founder of the Great North Run. He won the Bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics...

 (all world-class at 1,500 m) with a devastating display of front-running over the last few laps. To those who watched him, the display was awesomely inspiring to the point that his last 1,500 meters in that final would have placed him 8th in the 1,500-meter
1500 metres
The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...

 final held at those Games. The top four runners sprinted to the finish line inside six metres, a rare occurrence in major international championships (see, for example, "The Montreal Olympic Book" and "The Gilded Spikes"; the editor of this article has calculated this figure using Viren's estimated last 100-metre split time of 13.0 seconds and the difference between Viren and Rod Dixon at the finish line - 0.74 seconds). Remarkably, 18 hours after the 5,000-meter final, he competed in the men's marathon
Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics - Men's Marathon
The official results of the Men's Marathon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, held on Saturday July 31, 1976. The race started on 17.30h local time. A total number of sixty athletes completed the race, with Lucio Guachalla from Bolivia finishing in last position in 2:45:31. There were...

 and finished fifth in 2:13:11.

1980

Lasse Virén ended his career after the 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

, where he placed fifth in the 10,000 meters. Virén qualified for that final, placing fourth and having clocked a disappointing 28:45 in his heat. Only after Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

's John Treacy
John Treacy
John Treacy is a former Irish athlete and Olympic medalist, who represented Ireland at four Olympic Games between 1980 and 1992.- Career :...

 collapsed during his heat, due to heat stroke, was Virén given an automatic place in the final. Otherwise, he would have qualified for the final as a fastest loser. He pushed that final's leading pack until the last 300 meters, before succumbing to the lethal kick of Miruts Yifter
Miruts Yifter
Miruts Yifter ]] is a former Ethiopian athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. His name is also sometimes spelled as Muruse Yefter....

, the eventual gold medalist. Some people claimed that Viren could have run better in the 1980 Olympics if he had not done so much marathon-like training. Viren himself believes that if he had not injured his leg shortly before the Olympics, he would have run clearly better.
Viren skipped the 5,000-metre race and chose to compete in the Olympic marathon, where he started quite well, running over 20 kilometres in the lead group. Stomach problems, however, caused him to drop out before 30 kilometres. In the autumn of 1980, he announced his retirement from active competitive running.

Training and rumors

Virén's wins were not without controversy. Firstly, following his 10,000 meter final win at the Montreal games, he took off his Onitsuka Tiger (ASICS
ASICS
ASICS is a Japanese athletic equipment company. ASICS produces professional footwear and sports equipment designed for football, running, netball, tennis, badminton, squash, martial arts, cricket, golf, wrestling, track & field, cross-training, volleyball, cheerleading, lacrosse, and for many other...

) Runspark shoes and waved them to the crowd on his victory lap. The International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

 accused Virén of malicious intent, such as showing the tiger stripe logo on the shoes, but he claimed that he had a blister. Thus, the IOC suspended Virén from taking place in the 5,000-meter final after qualifying in his heat. An appeal followed and he was allowed to enter the race, two hours before gun time.

Virén, with his coach Rolf Haikkola, prepared with one focus in mind: coming to a peak for the Olympics. He accumulated thousands of kilometres of running in his local forests and in winter training destinations, running at gradually increasing intensities over intervening years to prepare a huge foundation from which to peak with his anaerobic work. All else was considered only as preparation: even European championships.

One factor in Virén's Olympic victories, especially at the 1972 Olympics 5,000 and 10,000 metres, has received little attention: his careful running of almost all the bends (curves) near the inner edge of the first lane, which spared him tens of metres compared to his chief rivals. More specifically, the United States' Steve Prefontaine gave Virén a handicap of over forty metres at the 1972 Olympics 5,000 metres, and Belgium's Emiel Puttemans gave Virén a handicap of about fifty metres at the 1972 Olympics 10,000 metres, by running many bends wide on the outer edge of the first lane or sometimes even on the second lane. This skillful practice of avoiding the running of extra metres in long-distance track races is called "bend (curve) mathematics" (see Mauno Saari, "Lasse Viren: The Secrets of Running" / Lasse Viren - Juoksemisen salaisuudet, Finland, 1979).

Critics say Virén did little of note between Olympics in competition, and was often suspected of blood doping
Blood doping
Blood doping is the practice of boosting the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream in order to enhance athletic performance. Because such blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the muscles, a higher concentration in the blood can improve an athlete’s aerobic capacity and...

; however, after difficult leg surgery early in 1974, and between his Olympic double victories, he won a bronze medal in 5,000m at the European championships behind the British athlete Brendan Foster
Brendan Foster
Brendan Foster CBE is a British former distance runner, entrepreneur and the founder of the Great North Run. He won the Bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics...

 with a time of 13:24.57. Only two days later, in Helsinki, Virén won a 5,000 m race in 13:26.0, defeating Anders Gärderud
Anders Gärderud
Sven Anders Gärderud is a Swedish former athlete, winner of 3000 m steeplechase at the 1976 Summer Olympics....

 (Sweden), and Olympic finalist Steve Prefontaine
Steve Prefontaine
Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters...

 (USA). Only three days after, Virén again encountered Foster in a 2-mile (3.2-km) race at the Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...

 international meeting in London (Crystal Palace). Foster was again victorious, with Virén finishing fourth, only 0.06 seconds behind, coming in second place. Virén recorded his fastest 10,000 m with a winning time of 27:22.6 at a Finland vs. Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 international match on 21 September. Furthermore, Virén managed to break the world record in the 2-mile and the 5,000 meters outside the Olympics (though both were done in close proximity to the 1972 Olympics, his 8:14.0 for two miles being run on August 14, 1972 and his 13:16.4 for 5,000 meters on September 14, 1972).

It is noteworthy that Virén ran much closer to his Olympic years' best times (1972, 1976 and 1980) in the intermittent non-Olympic years (1973 to 1975 and 1977 to 1979) at 5,000 metres, always breaking 13:36 and sometimes breaking 13:30, than at 10,000 metres over which he only broke 28 minutes in those Olympic years.

Years later, Virén competed in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 in 1979 and ran the summer international series there while in the midst of his endurance base for the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 Olympics.

Established in 1977 by the Finnish sculptor Eino, the Lasse Viren Finnish Invitational
Lasse Viren Finnish Invitational
The Lasse Viren Finnish Invitational, frequently shortened to Viren or the Viren 20K, is a 20 kilometre running race held annually on the trails of Big Sycamore Canyon, part of the Point Mugu State Park near Malibu, California.-History:...

, now the "Lasse Viren 20K," has become a popular, annual off-road running race in Sycamore Canyon, part of Point Mugu State Park
Point Mugu State Park
Point Mugu State Park is a state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Southern California. Part of the Western Santa Monica Mountains, the park is located at 9000 West Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California. There is a fee-based parking lot that is open from 8...

 near Malibu, California

Since his career ended he has become a well-known figure in Finland, eventually holding a seat in the Finnish Parliament
Parliament of Finland
The Eduskunta , is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 17, 2011.- Constitution :...

 with the National Coalition Party
National Coalition Party (Finland)
The National Coalition Party is a liberal conservative political party in Finland founded in 1918.The National Coalition Party is one of the four largest parties in Finland, along with the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party and the True Finns...

from 1999 until 2007 and from 2010 to 2011. Virén did not seek for re-election in 2011.
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