Paavo Kotila

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Paavo Edvart Kotila (born August 26, 1927 in Veteli , † January 26, 2014 in Oulu , Finland ) was a Finnish athlete who ran the fastest time on a regular marathon course at the Finnish marathon championships in 1956.

Career

Kotila joined the Vetelin Urheilijat association in his hometown of Veteli . His brother Uljas, who ran a marathon best time of around 2:40 hours, also belonged to this club. Kotila's career started relatively late. Two days before his 25th birthday in 1952, he ran his personal best over 10,000 meters (31: 06.2 minutes). His real passion, running a marathon, should lead to some successes in the years to come. In 1955 he won the silver medal in the marathon at the Nordic Championships. On August 12, 1956, he started at the Finnish championships in Pieksämäki . With Eino Oksanen he had a tough competitor in the race, but in the end Kotila managed to shake him off and win the competition in 2: 18: 04.8 hours. This time meant a new world record - world records were not yet recognized before 2003 - on the marathon distance, which was to last for over two years until the European Championships in Stockholm in 1958 , when Sergei Popov undercut the record by almost three minutes. As a Finnish champion he took part in the Olympic Games in Melbourne on December 1, 1956 . In the marathon there, however, Kotila was around 20 minutes slower than in Pieksämäki and was 13th. For this he won the title at the Nordic championships the following year and was able to complete his collection of medals at these championships with bronze in 1959.

Kotila also took part in several international, high-profile marathons. His greatest success is probably the victory at the Boston Marathon in 1960. At the Košice Marathon he won silver (1955) and bronze (1957). He was also runner-up in the 1957 Athens and Asahi marathons in 1957 and 1960, respectively.

Even at an advanced age, Kotila remained faithful to the marathon and won several Finnish and European championship titles among the veterans. In 1983, at the age of 55, he finished the Boston Marathon in a time of 2:36:42 hours.

successes

  • Unofficial world record in the marathon in 1956
  • 1960 Boston Marathon winner
  • Finnish marathon champion in 1956 and 1961

Personal best

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Entinen mestarijuoksija Paavo Kotila on kuollut. , Finnish , accessed January 30, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Kotila, Paavo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kotila, Paavo Edvart (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish long distance runner
DATE OF BIRTH August 26, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Veteli , Finland
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 2014
Place of death Oulu , Finland