ATHLETE

Lasse Virén

1949 - Today

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Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) is a Finnish former long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola in the 1920s. He was elected Finnish Sportsman of the Year in 1972 and 1976 and later became a politician and a member of Finland's parliament in 1999–2007 and 2010–2011. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Lasse Virén is the 60th most popular athlete (down from 39th in 2019), the 64th most popular biography from Finland (down from 57th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Finnish Athlete.

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Among ATHLETES

Among athletes, Lasse Virén ranks 60 out of 6,025. Before him are Irena Szewińska, Lucas, John Woodruff, Richard Sheldon, Fanny Blankers-Koen, and Reggie Walker. After him are Charles Bennett, Ville Ritola, Wallace, Yuriy Sedykh, Patrick Ryan, and Alajos Szokolyi.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1949, Lasse Virén ranks 141. Before him are Shing-Tung Yau, Carlos Bianchi, Sergei Bagapsh, Boualem Sansal, Elizabeth George, and Cliff Williams. After him are Manuel Marín, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Vera Wang, Horst Seehofer, Émerson Leão, and Geezer Butler.

Others Born in 1949

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In Finland

Among people born in Finland, Lasse Virén ranks 64 out of 751. Before him are Marco Hietala (1966), Georg Henrik von Wright (1916), Aimo Cajander (1879), Tarja Turunen (1977), Fredrik Idestam (1838), and Tom of Finland (1920). After him are Eino Leino (1878), Ville Ritola (1896), Eero Saarinen (1910), Leif Segerstam (1944), Väinö Linna (1920), and Tapio Wirkkala (1915).

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Among ATHLETES In Finland

Among athletes born in Finland, Lasse Virén ranks 3. Before him are Paavo Nurmi (1897), and Hannes Kolehmainen (1889). After him are Ville Ritola (1896), Matti Järvinen (1909), Albin Stenroos (1889), Ilmari Salminen (1902), Volmari Iso-Hollo (1907), Gunnar Höckert (1910), Jonni Myyrä (1892), Lauri Virtanen (1904), and Eero Lehtonen (1898).

Finnish born Athletes

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