Ilmari salt mines

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Ilmari Salminen (born September 21, 1902 in Elimäki , † January 5, 1986 in Kouvola ) was a Finnish long-distance runner and Olympic champion .

Salminen began its series of international successes at the European Championships in Turin in 1934 , the first ever European Championships. There he became European champion in the 10,000 meter run and won the bronze medal over 5000 meters behind the Frenchman Roger Rochard and the Polish Janusz Kusociński .

At the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin , Salminen only finished sixth in the 5000 meter final; he was in the lead and was knocked off track by a foul. The next day, however, he became Olympic champion over 10,000 meters. He defeated his compatriot Arvo Askola with a lead of only two tenths of a second.

In the 1937 season Salminen managed to improve the world record over 10,000 meters to 30: 05.6 minutes. In the same run he improved the world record over 6 miles (9656 m) to 29: 08.4 min.

After winning the gold medal over 10,000 meters at the European Championships in Paris in 1938 , Salminen withdrew from international competitions and finally ended his sporting career the following year.

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