Eino Rastas (17 July 1894 – 7 January 1965) was a Finnish

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. Rastas was a three-time Finnish champion and competed in the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in 1920, 1924 and 1928; in

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

and

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

he was part of Finland's gold medal winning

cross-country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

teams, though his results did not count for the team total in either case.

Career

Rastas won his first medals at the Finnish national championships in 1917, winning gold in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

and silver at

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

. At the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

he represented Finland in the

cross-country race Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

, placing 18th; the race doubled as a team event, which Finland won, but only the results of the best three finishers (

Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world r ...

, Heikki Liimatainen and Teodor Koskenniemi) counted for the team result. At the 1924 Olympics in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Rastas represented Finland in both the

5000 m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...

and the

, the latter again doubling as a team competition. The 5000 m was held first; Rastas won his heat and placed 11th in the final. The conditions for the cross-country race were extremely hot and demanding, and the majority of runners failed to finish; this included Rastas, who dropped out shortly after the halfway point. Two other Finns ( Väinö Sipilä and

Eero Berg Eero Berg (17 February 1898, Kangasala – 14 July 1969) was a Finnish athlete who mainly competed in the 10,000 metres during his career. He competed for Finland at the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France France (), officia ...

) also dropped out, but Finland still won the team race again. Rastas made a third and final Olympic appearance in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

, this time in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

; he placed fourteenth. In total, Rastas won 10 medals at the Finnish championships, including three gold medals; in addition to his 10,000 m gold from 1917, he won both the 5000 m and 10,000 m in 1922. Rastas worked as a senior conductor at the Finnish railways.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rastas, Eino 1894 births 1965 deaths People from Valkeala Sportspeople from Kouvola Finnish male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Finland Olympic cross country runners