"The Flying Finn" (Finnish: Lentävä suomalainen) is a nickname given to several Finnish athletes. Originally, it was given to several Finnish middle and long-distance runners. The term was later extended to notable Finnish racing sportsmen.
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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 in Stockholm.[1] 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 in Belgium and five at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he was partnered with Ritola, who ran to four gold medals. Volmari Iso-Hollo, the winner of 3000 m steeplechase at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics, 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.[2] The last Flying Finn in running was Lasse Virén, who won the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.
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 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.
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.[3] However, he wasn't able to turn his success in sports car racing into a successful F1 career in his underpowered Surtees. Thus, Keke Rosberg became the first well-known Finn in the sport as he won the championship in 1982. Unarguably the most famous Flying Finn of the past years has been Mika Häkkinen who won the F1 championship twice 1998-1999 and also raced in DTM between 2005 and 2007. Kimi Räikkönen replaced Häkkinen at McLaren-Mercedes in 2002, and has also been referred to as the Flying Finn, although he is better known by his other nickname, The Iceman (Finnish: Jäämies). He was joined on the 2007 grid by fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen and would win the title himself that season.
On two wheels, the most famous Flying Finn was Jarno Saarinen, also known as The Baron, who won the 250cc road racing World Championship as privateer in 1972, and finished a close second to Giacomo Agostini 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 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.[4] Mika Kallio, who finished second in the 125cc championship in 2005 and 2006, has also been nicknamed the Flying Finn.
Shefki Kuqi, currently playing for English side Oldham Athletic has also been nicknamed the "Flying Finn", owing to a strange but popular celebration when he scores a goal. His habit of throwing himself onto the ground, with his arms outstretched and landing on his chest, has drawn notice from many fans and media pundits.[5]
Patrik Antonius, who is a professional poker player, also has The Flying Finn as one his nicknames as well as "The Terminator". Antonius belongs to the finest poker player class in the world, and is often referred being the very best online poker player in the world. Antonius currently signed a contract with Full Tilt Poker and is a well known name in the today's pokerworld.