Pekka Johannes Päivärinta (born 4 May 1949 in
Aura) is a
Finnish 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 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
. He competed in
1972 Olympics 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, 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 23.7. 1978)
*1 500 m
**Outdoor 3:37.2 (
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
28.6. 1973),
**Indoor 3:52.3 (
Turku
Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
27.2. 1972)
*Mile
**Outdoor 4:05.2 (
Oulu
Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...
2.9. 1975)
*2 000 m
**Outdoor 5:11.0 (
Laitila 2.8. 1974)
*3 000 m
**Outdoor 7:57.2 (
Hyvinkää
Hyvinkää (; , ) is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Hyvinkää is situated in the northern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Hyvinkää is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in ...
27.7. 1975),
**Indoor 7:52.97 (
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
11.3. 1973)
*5 000 m
**Outdoor 13:28.51 (
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
16.9. 1973),
**Indoor 13:49.0 (
Turku
Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
22.2. 1975)
*10 000 m
**Outdoor 27:54.43 (
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
23.6. 1976)
*25 000 m
**Outdoor 1:14:16.8 (WR) (
Oulu
Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...
15.5. 1975)
*Marathon
**2:13:09.0 (
Fukuoka
is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan 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 ancient times. ...
8.12. 1974)
*2 000 m steeplechase
**5:46.8 (
Mariehamn
Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...
9.8. 1969)
*3 000 m steeplechase
**8:25.4 (
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
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
Athletes from Southwest Finland
Finnish Athletics Championships winners
20th-century Finnish sportsmen