Pekka Antero Vasala (born 17 April 1948) is a retired Finnish middle-distance

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...

who won an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medal in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

. At the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

he failed to advance from the first round of heats in the 1500 m. In Munich he won the 1500 m race in a time of 3 minutes 36.3 seconds, ahead of

Kip Keino Kipchoge Hezekiah Keino (born 17 January 1940) is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete. He was the chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC) until 29 September 2017. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Keino was among the first in a lon ...

and Rod Dixon. His countryman

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, ...

had won the 5,000 m earlier in the day, in addition to winning the 10,000 m in world record time earlier in the games. With a medal in every track event from 1500 to 10,000 meters, three gold and one bronze ( Tapio Kantanen in the 3000 meter steeplechase) Finnish athletes achieved a level of success not seen since the era of the "

Flying Finns "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 and long-distance runners. The term w ...

" (1912–1936). His nephew, Samuli Vasala, also an athlete, won the 2003

Nordic Cross Country Championships The Nordic Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition that is contested between the Nordic countries. The championships are generally held in mid-November and the host nation rotates every year betwee ...

. Vasala is the son-in-law of Martti Matilainen.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasala, Pekka 1948 births Living people People from Riihimäki Finnish male middle-distance runners Finnish male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes for Finland Olympic gold medalists for Finland Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from Kanta-Häme