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Tatu competed in two Olympics and finished 10th in the Marathon in 1920.
Tatu competed in two Olympics and finished 10th in the Marathon in 1920.
He was the first in 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 United States. citizen in 1921.
Hannes 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. With the Finnish team, he also obtained a silver place in the cross country team event.
Kolehmainen"s sportive career was interrupted by the First World War, but he remained an athlete to be reckoned with, although his specialty had now shifted to the longer distances, especially the marathon.
He would also enter the Olympic marathon in 1924, but did not complete that race. By then, Kolehmainen had found a worthy successor in Paavo Nurmi. Together with Nurmi, he lit the Olympic Flame at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
He died in that same city, fourteen years later.
In addition, Kolehmainen won the 10000 m and the now discontinued cross country event. At the time, Finland was still a part of Russia, and although there was a separate Finnish team at the Olympics, the Russian flag was raised for Kolehmainen"s victories, making him say that he "almost wished he hadn"t won". At the first post-war Olympics in Antwerp, he won the gold medal in this event.
