Viljo Heino

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Viljo Akseli Heino (born March 1, 1914 in Iitti , † September 15, 1998 in Tampere ) was a Finnish long-distance runner .

Career

Viljo Heino had been a good runner even before the outbreak of World War II, but was unable to assert himself against the strong competition in Finland. After injuring his leg in the Winter War , it took some time before he caught up with the top runners. In 1941 he improved his pre-war best time in the 5000 meter run and took sixth place in the world’s annual best list with 14: 36.6 minutes.

In 1943, Viljo Heino became Finnish champion for the first time, both in the 5000-meter run and in the 10,000-meter run . In the world annual best list of 1943 he was in fifth place over 5000 meters with 14: 34.6 minutes and first over 10,000 meters with 30: 15.2 minutes. In 1944 he became the Finnish champion over 5000 meters and took first place in the world's best list of the year on both routes. While the 14: 09.6 minutes over 5000 meters were 10 seconds away from the world record of Swede Gunder Hägg , the 29: 35.4 minutes over 10,000 meters, run on August 25, 1944 in Helsinki, meant an improvement on Taisto Mäki's held world record by 17 seconds. With 14: 17.2 min over 5000 meters and 30: 02.0 min over 10,000 meters, Viljo Heino took first place in the world rankings on both routes in 1945.

At the European Championships in Oslo in 1946 , Viljo Heino won the 10,000 meter run on August 22nd in a time of 29: 52.0 minutes with a 40 second lead over his fellow countryman Helge Perälä, who was second . Only Heino himself ran faster with his world record. The next day, August 23, the 5000 meter final took place. The Briton Sydney Wooderson won ahead of Willem Slijkhuis from the Netherlands. Viljo Heino finished fourth in 14: 24.4 minutes and was one place ahead of the young Emil Zátopek , who set a Czechoslovak record.

In 1947, for the fifth year in a row, Viljo Heino took first place in the world's annual best list over 10,000 meters, this time in 30: 07.2 minutes.

Ironically, in the 10,000 meter final at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, Heino was far from his best form due to stomach problems and gave up in exasperation. A week later he was recovered and ran 2:41:32 h in the only marathon of his career. He finished eleventh, his only Olympic placement.

In 1949, Viljo Heino lost his world record to Emil Zátopek. On September 1, 1949 in Kouvola, Viljo Heino ran a second faster than Zátopek with 29: 27.2 minutes and was once again the world record holder, but this time only a month and a half before Zátopek replaced him. On September 22nd in Turku, Viljo Heino ran his last world record with 62: 40.0 minutes over 20,000 meters. He ended his career in 1951.

From 1943 to 1946 he was Finnish champion over 5000 meters and in 1943, 1946 and 1949 over 10,000 meters.

Viljo Heino was 1.75 m tall and weighed 63 kg during his active time.

World records

  • August 25, 1944 in Helsinki: 28: 38.6 min over 6 miles and 29: 35.4 min over 10,000 m
  • September 30, 1945 in Turku: 49: 41.6 min over 10 miles and 19,339 m per hour
  • September 14, 1946 in Helsinki: 49: 22.2 min over 10 miles (16,093.44 m)
  • September 1, 1949 in Kouvola: 28: 30.8 min over 6 miles and 29: 27.2 min over 10,000 m
  • September 22, 1949 in Turku: 62: 40.0 min over 20,000 m

Top performances

  • 3000 m : 8: 10.8 min, September 14, 1944, Malmö
  • 5000 m: 14: 09.6 min, September 17, 1944, Gothenburg
  • 10,000 m: 29: 27.2 min, September 1st, 1949, Kouvola
  • Marathon: 2:41:32 h, August 7, 1948, London

literature

  • Manfred Holzhausen: world records and world record holder. 5,000 m run / 10,000 m run. Grevenbroich 1999
  • Peter Matthews (Ed.): Athletics 1999. Surbiton 1999, ISBN 1-899807-047

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Heino, Viljo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Heino, Viljo Akseli
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish long distance runner
DATE OF BIRTH March 1, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Iitti
DATE OF DEATH September 15, 1998
Place of death Tampere