Cross country running at the Olympics
1924 |
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Traditionally a winter sport, the scheduling of cross country within a summer event caused organisational issues. The sport was dropped after 1924 Olympics, when most of the runners dropped out due to extreme heat and pollution from a nearby power station.[1]
Over its three appearances at the Olympics, Finnish runners dominated the event. Tying in with the emergence of the Flying Finns, Hannes Kolehmainen won the inaugural event then Paavo Nurmi won the following two editions, winning gold medals both individually and in the team race.
Medal summary
Individual
Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
1912 Stockholm |
Hannes Kolehmainen (FIN) | Hjalmar Andersson (SWE) | John Eke (SWE) |
1920 Antwerp |
Paavo Nurmi (FIN) | Eric Backman (SWE) | Heikki Liimatainen (FIN) |
1924 Paris |
Paavo Nurmi (FIN) | Ville Ritola (FIN) | Earl Johnson (USA )
|
Multiple medalists
Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Paavo Nurmi | Finland (FIN) | 1920–1924 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Medals by country
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Finland (FIN) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
2 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
3 | United States (USA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Team
Multiple medalists
Rank | Athlete | Nation | Olympics | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1= | Paavo Nurmi | Finland (FIN) | 1920–1924 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
1= | Heikki Liimatainen | Finland (FIN) | 1920–1924 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Medals by country
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Finland (FIN) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
2 | Sweden (SWE) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
3 | Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
4 | United States (USA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
5 | France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Notes
- The Finnish team at the 1912 Olympics were officially part of the Russian Empire as part of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, but for historical reasons, the IOC classifies their results as belonging to Finland, not Russia.
References
- Participation and athlete data
- Athletics Men's Cross-Country, Individual Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-15.
- Athletics Men's Cross-Country, Team Medalists. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-03-15.
- Specific
- ^ Mackay, Duncan (2013-12-09). Olympic target for cross country still the aim say IAAF after top-level summit led by Coe. Inside the Games. Retrieved on 2014-03-15.
- ^ Moore, Blaine (2008-09-28). Will cross country racing return to the Olympics?. RunToWin. Retrieved on 2014-03-15.
- ^ Cross country for the Winter Olympics. Athletics Weekly (2014-02-20). Retrieved on 2014-03-15.
- ^ Jhung, Lisa (2014-02-10). Trail Running in the Winter Olympics. Runner's World. Retrieved on 2014-03-15.
- ^ Mackay, Duncan (2013-12-09). Olympic target for cross country still the aim say IAAF after top-level summit led by Coe . Inside the Games. Retrieved on 2014-03-15.