Pekka Päivärinta (athlete)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pekka Johannes Päivärinta (born May 4, 1949 in Aura , Finland ) is a former Finnish athlete who became the first world champion in cross-country skiing in 1973 and thus the first ever world athletics champion.

Career

Pekka Päivärinta won the Finnish championships in the 3000 meter obstacle course in 1971 in 8: 34.0 min . At the European Championships in Helsinki he reached the final on the obstacle course, but fell back there early and finished eleventh. A year later at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, he competed in the 1,500-meter run and the 3,000-meter obstacle course. With Tapio Kantanen , Mikko Ala-Leppilampi and Pekka Päivärinta, all three Finnish participants qualified for the final in the obstacle course . In the final, only Kantanen could keep up with the top and won the bronze medal, Päivärinta took eighth place, Ala-Leppilampi tenth place. Two days after the final in the obstacle course, Päivärinta was eliminated in the semifinals over 1500 meters.

On March 10, 1973, Päivärinta competed at the European Indoor Championships in Rotterdam for the preliminary run over 3000 meters and qualified third for the finals, the day after he finished third behind the two Belgians Emiel Puttemans and Willy Polleunis . On March 17, 1973, the first World Cross Country Championships took place in Waregem, Belgium . The race was massively disrupted by violent protests from Irish nationalists. Päivärinta could handle the bullet best and won in the final sprint just ahead of the Spaniard Mariano Haro ; Päivärinta was the first official world champion in athletics, the first stadium world championships did not take place until 1983 . In the 1973 outdoor season Päivärinta won the Finnish championships over 10,000 meters.

In 1974 Päivärinta defended his Finnish championship title in cross country, until 1977 he won this title five times in a row. At the World Cross Country Championships in 1974 in Monza, he finished 15th. The highlight of the outdoor season also took place in Italy: the European Championships in Rome . There Päivärinta couldn't cope with the heat and finished 19th in the 10,000 meter run and 13th place in the 5000 meter run . In 1975 Päivärinta went back to the European Indoor Championships , in Katowice he took second place behind Ian Stewart over 3000 meters . at the cross world championships in Rabat, he gave up. In the outdoor season, he set a world record in the 25,000 meter run on May 10, 1975. At the Finnish championship in 1975 Päiväranta won the double over 1500 meters and 5000 meters.

1976 Päivärinta took part in the Olympic Games for the second time , again he started in two competitions, but this time over 10,000 meters and over 5000 meters. On the shorter distance, he reached the final and finished there in 13th place, while his compatriot Lasse Virén repeated his Olympic victories from 1972 on both routes . In 1977 Päiväranta started for the third time at the European Indoor Championships and won his third medal, behind Karl Fleschen he won the silver medal in a sprint ahead of Markus Ryffel . Päivärinta's training was shaped by Arthur Lydiard . Due to the long Nordic winter, the intensive training based on long runs was a good match for the climatic conditions in Finland.

In 1980 Päivärinta ended his career. With a height of 1.86 m, his competition weight was around 68 kg.

Top performances

open air

  • 800 meters: 1: 52.5 min ( Salo July 23, 1978)
  • 1500 meters: 3: 37.2 min (Helsinki June 28, 1973)
  • 2000 meters: 5: 11.0 min ( Laitila August 2, 1974)
  • 3000 meters: 7: 57.2 min ( Hyvinkää July 27, 1975)
  • 5000 meters: 13: 28.51 min (Helsinki September 16, 1973)
  • 10,000 meters: 27: 54.43 min (Helsinki 23 June 1976)
  • 25,000 meters: 1:14: 16.8 h ( Oulu May 15, 1975) (world record)
  • Marathon: 2: 13: 09.0 h ( Fukuoka December 8, 1974)
  • 2000 meter obstacle: 5: 46.8 min ( Mariehamn August 9, 1969)
  • 3000 meter obstacle: 8: 25.4 min (Helsinki July 26, 1972)

Hall

  • 1500 meters: 3: 52.3 min ( Turku February 27, 1972)
  • 3000 meters: 7: 52.97 min (Rotterdam March 11, 1973)
  • 5000 meters: 13: 49.0 min (Turku February 22, 1975)

Finnish championship title

  • 1500 meters: 1972 (Halle), 1975
  • 3000 meters: 1972 (hall), 1975 (hall)
  • 5000 meters: 1974 (Halle), 1975 (Halle), 1975, 1977 (Halle), 1977
  • 10,000 meters: 1973, 1974, 1976
  • 3000 meter obstacle: 1971
  • Cross-country long distance: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977

literature

  • Real Federación Española de Atletismo (Ed.): El Libro Europeo da la Pista Cubierta Madrid 2005 ISBN 84-87704-89-1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Irish 'involvement' in the 1973 World Cross Country Championships , accessed February 2, 2017.
  2. ↑ Arnd Krüger : Many roads lead to Olympia. The changes in training systems for medium and long distance runners (1850–1997) . In: N. Gissel (Hrsg.): Sporting performance in change . Czwalina, Hamburg 1998, pp. 41-56.
personal data
SURNAME Päivärinta, Pekka
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Päivärinta, Pekka Johannes (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish athlete
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Aura (Finland)