Pekka Johannes Päivärinta (born 4 May 1949 in

Aura Aura most commonly refers to: * Aura (paranormal), a field of luminous multicolored radiation around a person or object * Aura (symptom), a symptom experienced before a migraine or seizure Aura may also refer to: Places Extraterrestrial * 1488 ...

) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

former long-distance runner. He won men's senior race in the first World Championships of cross-country running in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

. He competed in

1972 Olympics 1972 Olympics refers to both: *1972 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sapporo, Japan *1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 19 ...

at 3000-meter steeplechase finishing 8th. In 1976 Olympics he competed in 5000 meters and finished 13th. In 1975 he broke world record in 25000 meters running by his result 1:14:16,8. The record was broken by Bill Rodgers in 1979. Contrary to his fellow Finnish long-distance runner — and age mate —

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 ...

, Päivärinta underachieved in the major outdoor international championships of his active running career. On the other hand, he defeated Virén several times in the local and national Finnish races. One apparent obstacle to his success in the major international championships was that he ran badly in hot and humid conditions. This would partly explain his nineteenth place at 10,000 metres and thirteenth place at 5,000 metres in the 1974 European Athletics Championships, and his dropping out of the 10,000-metre heats in the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics.

Personal bests

*800 m **Outdoor 1:52.5 (

Salo Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland **Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostroboth ...

23.7. 1978) *1 500 m **Outdoor 3:37.2 (

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

28.6. 1973), **Indoor 3:52.3 (

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

27.2. 1972) *Mile **Outdoor 4:05.2 (

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

2.9. 1975) *2 000 m **Outdoor 5:11.0 (

Laitila Laitila (; sv, Letala) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region, and it is from Laitila to Turku. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population de ...

2.8. 1974) *3 000 m **Outdoor 7:57.2 (

Hyvinkää Hyvinkää (; sv, Hyvinge, ) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region, approximately north of the capital Helsinki. The city was chartered in 1960. The population of Hyvinkää is (). Its neighboring municipal ...

27.7. 1975), **Indoor 7:52.97 (

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

11.3. 1973) *5 000 m **Outdoor 13:28.51 (

16.9. 1973), **Indoor 13:49.0 (

22.2. 1975) *10 000 m **Outdoor 27:54.43 (

23.6. 1976) *25 000 m **Outdoor 1:14:16.8 (WR) (

15.5. 1975) *Marathon **2:13:09.0 (

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

8.12. 1974) *2 000 m steeplechase **5:46.8 (

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...

9.8. 1969) *3 000 m steeplechase **8:25.4 (

26.7. 1972)

References

External links

* *http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/fi/atm.php?ID=8846 {{DEFAULTSORT:Paivarinta, Pekka 1949 births Living people People from Aura, Finland Finnish male long-distance runners Finnish male marathon runners Finnish male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes for Finland Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners Sportspeople from Southwest Finland