Flying Finn (term)

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"The Flying Finn" was a nickname given to several Finnish runners including Olympic gold medalists, Ville Ritola and Paavo Nurmi. At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Nurmi won five gold medals for events including the 1500 m and 5000 m (which were held with only an hour between them).

The term has such international renown that it is often attached to notable Finnish sportsmen whose exploits are fleet of foot or have to do with fast cars. Unarguably the most famous Flying Finn of the past years has been Formula 1 driver Mika Häkkinen who currently races in DTM. Kimi Räikkönen is the current Finnish driver for Mclaren Mercedes F1 team, and has also been referred to as the Flying Finn.fr:Finlandais volants ja:フライング・フィン