Viljo ("Ville") Akseli Heino (1 March 1914 in Iitti – 15 September 1998 in Tampere) was a Finnish athlete who held the world record for the 10,000 metres event from 25 August 1944 to 11 June 1949 and again from 1 September 1949 to 22 October 1949. [1] He was the male Finnish Sportspersonality of the year for 1949.
Born in Iitti, he represented Finland in the 10,000 metres and marathon in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. [2] He also won the Saint Silvester Road Race in São Paulo in 1949. [3]
The 1908 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome, but were relocated on financial grounds following the violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, which claimed over 100 lives; Rome eventually hosted the Games in 1960.
Paul Kibii Tergat is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished long-distance runners of all time. Runnerworld called him the "Most comprehensive runner of all time".
Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian former long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Championship titles over the 10,000 metres. Haile triumphed in the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon. Further to this, he earned four world titles indoors and was the 2001 World Half Marathon Champion.
Lasse Artturi Virén 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.
The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race consists of 25 laps around an Olympic-sized track. It is less commonly held at track and field meetings, due to its duration. The 10,000-metre track race is usually distinguished from its road running counterpart, the 10K run, by its reference to the distance in metres rather than kilometres.
Tariku Bekele Beyecha is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000 metres and has moved up to 10000 metres as well. He is the younger brother of Kenenisa Bekele. He is the fourth fastest Ethiopian ever over 5000 m and 3000 metres. His indoor 3000 m best of 7:31.09 ranks him as the ninth fastest of all-time in the event. He was the 10,000 m bronze medallist at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Lydia Cheromei is a Kenyan athlete born into a family of athletes. She specialises in long distance running. She rose to fame at the age of thirteen with a win in the junior race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She took some years away from competition, citing burnout, and returned in the mid-nineties, making an appearance at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Paavo Nurmi Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Turku, Finland. It is currently used mostly for football matches and athletics meets. It holds 13,000 people and is named after the Turku-born runner Paavo Nurmi. Twenty athletics world records have been set at the stadium. John Landy broke the world records for the 1,500 m and the mile (1954), Nurmi for the 3,000 m (1922), Emil Zátopek (1950) and Ron Clarke (1965) for the 10,000 m, Viljo Heino for the one-hour run (1945) and the 20 km (1949), Matti Järvinen for the javelin throw (1932) and Charles Hoff for the pole vault (1925).
Giuseppe "Pino" Dordoni was an Italian athlete who competed mainly in the 50 kilometre race walk.
Juha Väätäinen is a Finnish former athlete. He is the winner of the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter gold medals at the 1971 European Championships, held in Helsinki. He was the eldest of the successful Finnish runners, the others being Lasse Virén, Pekka Vasala, Tapio Kantanen, Martti Vainio, and Kaarlo Maaninka, who came into the limelight in the 1970s. He served as a Member of the Finnish Parliament for Helsinki, representing the Finns Party between 2011 and 2015.
Wude Ayalew Yimer is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. She was the bronze medallist over 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and took the silver in that event at the 2011 All-Africa Games. Her sister Hiwot Ayalew is also a top level runner.
Josphat Kiprono Menjo is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in track and road running.
Alice Jemeli Timbilil is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time Olympian, having competed over 10,000 metres at both the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics.
Mikko Hietanen (1911–1999) was a Finnish long-distance runner, European Champion and world record holder, who competed for his native country at the Summer Olympics in London 1948 and in Helsinki 1952.
Víctor Manuel Mora García is a retired long-distance runner from Colombia. He won the gold medal in the men's 5.000 metres event in (14:32) minutes at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games, and competed for his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1972.
The men's marathon event at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games took place on August 7. Forty-one athletes from 21 nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The race was won by Delfo Cabrera of Argentina, the nation's second victory in three Games. Tom Richards's silver medal put Great Britain on the podium for the third time in a row, while Étienne Gailly earned Belgium's first marathon medal with his bronze.
Väinö Koskela was a Finnish long-distance runner. Originally a cross-country skier, he was inspired to take up track and field athletics by Finnish victories in the long-distance running events at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He began competing in 1945, following service in World War II, and made his first international appearance at the 1948 Summer Olympics, where he placed seventh in the men's 5000 metres event. The same year he was a national champion in both the 5000 metres and cross-country running and retained the former title through 1949. In 1950 he took home a bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at that year's European Athletics Championships and continued to participate through the 1952 Summer Olympics, after which he retired from active competition and resumed a life of farming.
Viljo is an Estonian and Finnish masculine given name and may refer to:
Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the 5000 metres and silver medalist for the 10,000 metres, a two-time 10,000 m World champion from 2019 and 2022, World silver medalist from 2017, and the 2019 World Cross Country champion. Cheptegei also won gold medals for the 5000 m and 10,000 m at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He is the world record holder for both these disciplines and holds also the world best in the 15 kilometres road race.
Jacob Kiplimo is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic 10,000 metres bronze medallist and also won bronze in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Kiplimo earned gold medals for the 5000 metres and 10,000 m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He is the 2020 World Half Marathon champion. He won silver and gold medal at the 2019 and 2023 World Cross Country Championships respectively. Kiplimo is the world record holder for the half marathon, which he set on 21 November 2021 in Lisbon with a time of 57:31.