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Lasse Virén (born July 22 , 1949 ) is a former Finnish Athlete , winner of four gold medals at the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1976 Summer Olympics . Born in Myrskylä , Finland , Lasse Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns" promulgated by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen , Paavo Nurmi , and Ville Ritola in the 1920s . A police officer from Myrskylä , Virén debuted on the international scene in 1971 . At the 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich , Virén won both the 5000 meters and the 10,000 meters, setting a world record despite falling in the latter event. He became the fourth athlete to win both events in the same Olympics, joining Hannes Kolehmainen ( 1912 ), Emil Zátopek ( 1952 ), Volodymyr Kuts ( 1956 ) and, after them, as a fifth (and last) Miruts Yifter ( 1980 ). Virén ran at lower levels between the Olympics. At the 1976 Summer Olympics , Virén again won both events, becoming the repeat winner of the 10,000 meter race. In 5000 meters, he held off all-time greats Dick Quax , Rod Dixon , and Brendan Foster (all world-class at 1500 m) with a devastating display of front-running over the last few laps. To those who watched him, the display was awesomely inspiring. Remarkably, he competed in the marathon later that week and finished fifth. His wins were not without controversy. First, in the 10,000 meters, he carried his shoes with him on his victory lap. The International Olympic Committee accused Virén of malicious intent, such as showing the logo on the shoes, but he explained that he had a blister. Additionally, Virén was alleged to have been involved in the then-legal practice of Blood Boosting which involved freezing blood then having it returned to the body later to improve the oxygen content. Viren himself has never acknowledged any involvement in this practice. Viren, with his coach Rolf Haikkola, prepared with one focus in mind: coming to a peak for the Olympics. He accumulated thousands of kilometres of running in his local forests and in winter training destinations, run at gradually increasing intensities over intervening years to prepare a huge foundation from which to peak with his anaerobic work. All else was considered only as preparation: even European championships. Critics say Viren did little of note between Olympics in competition; this is a myth and not factual at all. For instance, in 1974, between his Olympic double victories, he fronted in the European championships and medalled in the Rome 5000 m behind the great British athlete Brendan Foster, in 13 min 24.57 s. Only two days later, at Helsinki, Lasse won a 5000 m race in 13 min 26.0 s, defeating Anders Gärderud (Sweden), and Olympic finalist Steve Prefontaine (USA). Only three days after that, Viren again encountered Foster in a 2 mile (3.2 km) race at the Coca-Cola international meeting in London (Crystal Palace). Foster was again victorious, with Viren finishing an unlucky fourth, only 0.06 s behind the second placegetter. Viren recorded his fastest 10000 m time for the year of 28 min 22.6 s when he was the winner at a Finland vs. Soviet Union international match on 21 September . Years later, Viren even fronted in New Zealand in 1979 and ran the summer international series there, competing solidly, while in the midst of his endurance base for Moscow. Lasse Virén ended his career after the 1980 Summer Olympics , where he placed fifth in the 10,000 meters. Since his career ended, he has become a well-known figure in Finland, even winning a seat in the Finnish Parliament . |
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