Hannes Kolehmainen
Olympic athlete
1889 – 1966
Who was 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 American Athletic Club. He also enlisted in the 14th Regiment of the National Guard of New York, and became a U.S. citizen in 1921.
Kolehmainen, a devoted vegetarian and bricklayer by trade, was from a sportive family from Kuopio. He was one of the stars of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, winning three gold medals. His most memorable was the one in the 5000 m. In that event, he ran a heroic duel with Frenchman Jean Bouin. After leading the field together for most of the race, Bouin was only defeated by Kolehmainen in the final metres – in World Record time. In addition, Kolehmainen won the 10000 m and the now discontinued cross country event. With the Finnish team, he also obtained a silver place in the cross country team event.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
- Born
- Dec 9, 1889
Kuopio - Also known as
- Juho Pietari Kolehmainen
- Siblings
- Nationality
- Finland
- Profession
- Died
- Jan 11, 1966
Helsinki
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Hannes Kolehmainen." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/hannes_kolehmainen>.
Discuss this Hannes Kolehmainen biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In