Väinö Sipilä

During the 1920s Finland’s Väinö Sipilä won an Olympic gold medal and set two world records in long-distance running. Sipilä was a four-time national champion in cross country running, winning three consecutive titles from 1923 to 1925, with his fourth title coming in 1929. He was part of the Finnish delegation that won the cross-country team race at the 1924 Paris Olympics, which was infamous for being run on one of the hottest days in the capital. In Paris he also finished fourth in the 10,000 metres, just behind compatriot Eero Berg.

Sipilä set his first world record in June 1925 when he ran the 20,000 metres in 1:06:29.0 at a race in Stockholm. His record stood until September 1930 until it was bettered by the great Paavo Nurmi. Sipilä’s second world record was in the 30,000 metres when he ran 1:43:07.8 in Tampere in September 1928. The record was eventually broken in October 1931 by the Argentine distance runner Juan Carlos Zabala. Also in 1928 Sipilä ran in the marathon at the Amsterdam Olympics where he finished 15th. His daughter Leena competed at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics as a sprinter.

Personal Bests: 10000 – 31:30.2 (1929); Mar – 2-41:30 (1931).