Sport Athletics Height 1.8 m Event(s) 1500–10000 m Weight 74 kg | Name Lauri Lehtinen Club Helsinki Role Olympic athlete | |
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Born 10 August 1908 Kerkkoo, Porvoo, Finland Personal best(s) 1500 m – 3:55.5 (1931)
5000 m – 14:16.9 (1932)
10000 m – 30:15.0 (1937) Died December 4, 1973, Helsinki, Finland Olympic medals Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 5000 metres People also search for Gunnar Hockert, Ralph Hill, Lauri Virtanen, Henry Jonsson | ||
1932 lauri lehtinen vs ralph hill 14 30 0 5000m los angeles olympics
Lauri Aleksanteri Lehtinen (10 August 1908 – 4 December 1973) was a Finnish long-distance runner, winner of a controversial 5000 m race at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Lehtinen ran a new world record in 5000 m (14:17.0) just a month prior to the Olympics, thus becoming a main favourite to the Olympic 5000 m title. In the final, the Finns Lehtinen and Lauri Virtanen led early. They managed to shake off all other competitors except Ralph Hill from the United States. Soon the race turned into a battle between Lehtinen and Hill. On the last lap, Hill tried to overtake Lehtinen. Seeing this, the Finn blocked his way, zig-zagging from one lane to the other to the great exasperation of the crowd. At the finish, Lehtinen crossed first a mere 50 centimetres ahead. Although this was a common tactic in Europe, the American audience was unaccustomed to it, so they booed. Hill declined to file a protest. They both recorded an identical time of 14:30.0. This was the only Olympic race longer than 200 metres in which the top two finishers recorded identical times.
At the 1936 Summer Olympics, Lehtinen couldn't defend his title, finishing second after fellow countryman Gunnar Höckert.
In 1940, Lehtinen donated his Los Angeles gold medal to a soldier who had served with distinction on the Karelian Isthmus. Lehtinen's gesture was a mark of respect for Höckert, who was killed in action on the Isthmus.
In Kerkkoo village in Porvoo, there is a road named after him, "Lauri Lehtisen Tie."