"The Flying Finn" ( fi, Lentävä suomalainen, sv, Flygande finländaren) is a nickname given to several
Finnish athletes who were noted for their speed. Originally, it was given to several Finnish
middle
Middle or The Middle may refer to:
* Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits.
Places
* Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man
* Middle Bay (disambiguation)
* Middle Brook (disambiguation)
* Middle Creek (d ...
and
long-distance runners. The term was later extended to notable Finnish racing drivers.
''Flying Finn'' is also the title of a documentary about the history of sports in Finland, and is the first English-language documentary produced in Finland.
Running
The nickname was first used of
Hannes Kolehmainen, also known as ''"Smiling Hannes"'', as he took home three gold medals and broke two world records during the
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...
in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. As Finnish runners started to dominate long-distance running, the nickname was passed on to all successful Finns in the sport, including multi-
Olympic gold medalists
Paavo Nurmi and
Ville Ritola. Nurmi won three gold medals 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 ...
in
Belgium and five at the
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...
in
Paris, where he was partnered with Ritola, who ran to four gold medals.
Volmari Iso-Hollo, the winner of 3000 m
steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:
* Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles
* Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...
at the
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
and
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
, was one of the best-known Finnish runners in the 1930s and also nicknamed the Flying Finn. During his tour of the United States in 1940,
Taisto Mäki—who held five world records—was regularly referred to as a Flying Finn.
The last Flying Finn in running was
Lasse Virén
Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) is a Finnish former long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paa ...
, who won the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
and
1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
.
Motorsport
Rallying
The nickname was next used to describe the efforts of Finnish
rally drivers in the 1960s.
Timo Mäkinen,
Rauno Aaltonen and
Simo Lampinen were among the first drivers referenced as the Flying Finn. In 1968,
Castrol released a film called "The Flying Finns", it featured the 1968
1000 Lakes Rally
Rally Finland (formerly known as the Neste Rally Finland, Neste Oil Rally Finland, 1000 Lakes Rally and Rally of the Thousand Lakes; fi, Suomen ralli, sv, Finska rallyt) is a rally competition in the Finnish Lakeland in Central Finland. The ra ...
and concentrated on documenting the duel between Mäkinen and
Hannu Mikkola. The term then moved on to the next generations of Finnish rally drivers, and among others, the four-time World Rally Champions
Juha Kankkunen and
Tommi Mäkinen were often referred to as Flying Finns.
Formula One
The first driver to carry the nickname in
Formula One was
Leo Kinnunen. Kinnunen had the title written on his helmet in 1970, when he won the
World Sportscar Championship for
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
. However, he could not turn his success in
sports car racing into a successful F1 career in his underpowered
Surtees. In the 1980s the moniker was given to
Keke Rosberg, who became the first well-known Finn in the sport, winning the
1982 world championship. Following the success of later Finnish drivers, Rosberg has been described as the "original Flying Finn".
After Rosberg, many Finnish Formula 1 drivers have also been called the "Flying Finn", including
Mika Häkkinen, who won the drivers' championship in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
and
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
;
Mika Salo;
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
, who was drivers' champion in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
;
Heikki Kovalainen; and
Valtteri Bottas.
Motorcycles
On two wheels, the most famous Flying Finn was
Jarno Saarinen, also known as ''The Baron'', who won the 250cc
road racing
Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...
World Championship as
privateer in 1972, and finished a close second to
Giacomo Agostini
Giacomo Agostini (; born 16 June 1942) is an Italian multi-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Nicknamed Ago, he amassed 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles. Of these, 68 wins and 8 titles came in the 500  ...
in the 350cc class. Saarinen died the following year, while leading both the 250cc and 500cc championships and after competing for only three years. He remains in
motorcycle sport
Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all races or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor's various riding skills.
Motorcycle racing
Motorcycle rac ...
history books for developing a new riding style, which is still predominantly in use today; body hanging off the bike with knee near the ground. During the 1970s, Finnish rider
Heikki Mikkola won four
motocross world championships and also became known as the ''Flying Finn''.
Mika Kallio, who finished second in the 125cc championship in 2005 and 2006, has also been nicknamed the Flying Finn. Mauno Hermunen, who has finished third in 2010 and fourth in 2011 in the world supermoto series, has also been nicknamed the Flying Finn.
Football
Shefki Kuqi, who played for Scottish side
Hibernian F.C. was nicknamed the "Flying Finn", owing to a strange but popular goal celebration, throwing himself onto the ground, with his arms outstretched and landing on his chest.
List of Flying Finns
Motorsport
*
Timo Mäkinen – rally driver
*
Rauno Aaltonen – rally driver
*
Markku Alén – World Rally Champion
*
Marcus Grönholm – two time World Rally Champion
*
Mikko Hirvonen – rally driver
*
Joonas Kylmäkorpi – four time world long track champion
*
Jari-Matti Latvala – rally driver
*
Tommi Mäkinen – four time World Rally Champion
*
Heikki Mikkola – four-time motocross world champion
*
Keke Rosberg – F1 World Champion
*
Jarno Saarinen – Motorcycle World Champion
*
Teuvo Länsivuori – Motorcycle road racer
*
Juha Kankkunen – four time World Rally Champion
*
JJ Lehto – two time Le Mans winner and F1 podium finisher
*
Juha Salminen
Juha Salminen (born 27 September 1976 in Vantaa) is a Finnish former professional motorcycle enduro racer. He is a 13-time World Enduro Champion (including the overall world championship titles from 2000 to 2004) and has also won the German cham ...
– twelve time World Enduro Champion
*
Timo Salonen – World Rally Champion
*
Mika Salo – two time Le Mans GT2 winner and F1 podium finisher
*
Kari Tiainen
Kari Tiainen (born 26 August 1966 in Riihimäki) is a Finnish former professional enduro rider. He competed in the World Enduro Championships from 1989 to 2003. Tiainen is notable for being a seven-time World Enduro Champion and held the record for ...
– seven time World Enduro Champion
*
Henri Toivonen – rally driver
*
Ari Vatanen – World Rally Champion
*
Sami Seliö
Sami Seliö (born 5 May 1975 in Lohja, Finland) is a Finland, Finnish inshore powerboat racing, powerboat racer and two-time Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship, Formula 1 Powerboat World Champion. Seliö races for the Mad Croc BaBa Racing team ...
– F1 Boat World Champion
*
Mika Häkkinen – two time F1 World Champion
*
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
– F1 World Champion and WRC driver
*
Heikki Kovalainen – F1 race winner and Super GT champion
*
Valtteri Bottas – F1 race winner
Winter sports
*
Janne Ahonen – ski jumper
*
Jari Kurri – ice hockey player
*
Matti Nykänen – ski jumper
*
Kalle Palander
Kalle Markus Palander (born May 2, 1977 in Tornio) is a Finland, Finnish retired alpine skiing, alpine skier, the most successful male Finn ever in the sport.
Career
In 1999 Palander won the Alpine World Skiing Championships, world championship ...
– alpine skier
*
Teemu Selänne – ice hockey player
*
Kalevi Häkkinen
Paavo Kalevi ”Häkä” Häkkinen (12 March 1928, in Hankasalmi – 21 March 2017) was a Finnish alpine skier who competed in the 1956 Winter Olympics
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games ( it, VII Gio ...
– speed skier
*
Kaisa Mäkäräinen – biathlete (won three World Cups)
Other Flying Finns
*
Pertti Karppinen – triple Olympic rowing champion.
*
Jarkko Nieminen – tennis player known for his speed.
*
Makwan Amirkhani –
MMA fighter known for his flying knee attack.
*
Juho Kuosmanen
Juho Kuosmanen (born September 30, 1979) is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He graduated from Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 2014. Kuosmanen's graduation film called The Painting Sellers was nominated for fiv ...
– Finnish film director and screenwriter.
References
{{reflist
External links
Flying Finns - Famous Finnish Rally Drivers
Finnish sportspeople
Nicknames in sports