Paavo Nurmi's five Olympic running golds will be displayed in Paris next month
Paavo Nurmi, of Finland, leads the field during a track at the 1924 Olympics in Paris on July 1924. The five Olympic gold medals won by Finnish running great Paavo Nurmi will be returned to Paris and displayed at an exhibition next month marking the century of his unique achievement at the 1924 Paris Games, World Athletics said Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. Credit: AP
MONACO — The five Olympic gold medals won by Finnish running great Paavo Nurmi will return to Paris and be on display next month to mark a century since his unique achievement at the 1924 Paris Games.
To mark the upcoming Paris Games, the medals will be exhibited from March 27-Sept. 22 at the Monnaie de Paris on the left bank of the river Seine. They will form part of a larger exhibition of Olympic medals called “D’or, d’argent, de bronze” (Of gold, silver and bronze) organized by the museum of the French mint.
Nicknamed “The Flying Finn,” Nurmi was one of the first superstars of sport. His five medals are the most athletics golds won at a single Games.
“As famous as the Hollywood stars of his day, lauded by U.S. presidents, Nurmi was the first truly global sports star,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said on Monday.
World Athletics said Nurmi's grandson Mika Nurmi and Finland four-time Olympic champion Lasse Viren — a long-distance running great himself — will be guests at the March 27 ceremony.
The Paris Games in July are followed by the Paralympics in August.
