Eino Purje

Eino Purje

Eino Purje ( Eino Alfred Purje ; born February 21, 1900 in Kymi near Kotka , † September 2, 1984 in Tervo ) was a Finnish athlete.

Purje was successful as a medium and long distance runner in the 1920s and early 1930s and participated in two Olympic Games. He was 1.74 m tall and 66-68 kg heavy.

Services

Eino Purje was able to place himself nine times in the top ten of the world rankings:

• 1922: 5th place, 1500 m (4: 03.9 min)
• 1926: 5th place, 1500 m (3: 55.8 min)
• 1927: 5th place, 1500 m (3: 57.2 min)
• 1928:
  • 4th place, 1500 m (3: 53.1 min)
  • 2nd place, 1 mile (4: 11.6 min)
  • 2nd place, 5000 m (14: 39.3 min)
• 1930:
  • 2nd place, 1500 m (3: 53.9 min)
  • 9th place, 1 mile (4: 16.6 min)
• 1931: 2nd place, 1500 m (3: 53.6 min)

He won three national championships over 1500 m:

• 1928 (4: 03.9 min)
• 1930 (3: 59.0 min)
• 1931 (3: 56.4 min)

There was also a third place in 1933 (3: 57.2 min) and another third place in 1927 over 800 m (1: 58.5 min).

He made his first major appearance on an international level in 1925, when he was victorious over 800, 1500 and 3000 m at the Workers' Olympics in Frankfurt / Main .

At the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928 he started both over 1500 m and over 5000 m and reached the finals both times. He had to give up over 5000 m, which was all the more disappointing when he had run a personal best of 14: 39.3 min shortly beforehand in Helsinki. On the other hand, the signs were pointing to success over the 1500 m distance: He won his prelim in 4: 00.8 min and left the famous French Jules Ladoumègue behind. Although he could not repeat this feat in the final, he achieved an excellent time of 3: 56.4 minutes, which took him to the bronze medal position behind his compatriot Harri Larva , who set an Olympic record in 3: 53.2 minutes, and Ladoumègue ( 3: 53.8 min).

Four years later, at the Los Angeles Games, things didn't go so well for the now 32-year-old. After he had easily qualified in 3: 59.7 minutes as second in his 1500 m heat, he had to give up in the final.

Web links

• Eino Purje in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Finnish championship statistics