Trivia

Ran with a stop watch. Lit the Olympic torch at the 1952 games in Helsinki. Won nine gold and three silver medals (1920, 1924, 1928 Olympics).

Uncle of Maila Nurmi, whose real name is Maila Nurmi.

During his career, he broke world records in most distances from 1500 m to 10,000 m.

After retiring from competitive running, he became a building contractor. He invested wisely, and made a considerable fortune, mainly in the housing industry. In the 1930's and 1940's, he sometimes took leave from his business commitments to train Finnish runners.

At the Paris Olympic Games in 1924, he won won five gold medals: three individual ones and two in team events. He won the 1500 meters and 5000 m with less than two hours between the two finals.