Nina Holmén

Siv Nina Anette Holmén (* 29. September 1951 in Esse in the municipality Pedersöre as Nina Wärn ) is a former Finnish athlete . The 1.63 m tall and in her competition time 51 kg heavy Holmén became the first European champion in the 3000 meter run in 1974 .

In 1973 she was in the Finnish team at the first cross-country championships and won silver in the team standings behind the England team. A year later, at the second World Cross Country Championships in Monza , Paola Cacchi won like 1973 , with Holmén winning silver in the individual standings six seconds behind, and with the team she was third behind England and Italy.

Holmén also achieved her second major success in Italy. The 3000 meter run was held for the first time at the 1974 European Championships in Rome . The favorite was the Russian Lyudmila Bragina , who held the world record with 8: 52.8 minutes. Holmén won the title in Rome in a Finnish national record of 8: 55.2 minutes, one second ahead of Bragina and another second on Joyce Smith .

At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal , the 1,500-meter run was the longest offered distance in women's athletics. Holmén reached the final and finished ninth in 4: 09.55 minutes, four seconds behind the winner Tatjana Kasankina .

Nina Holmén married the long-distance runner Rune Holmén, who was twelfth in the 1971 European Championships over 5000 meters. Both son Janne Holmén was European marathon champion in 2002.

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede: The Modern Olympic Century 1896-1996 Track and Field Athletics . Berlin 1999, published by the German Society for Athletics Documentation eV