Heikki Olavi Suomalainen (born 27 March 1947 in

Sääminki Sääminki (; ) was a countryside and former municipality of Finland. Most of Sääminki municipality was incorporated in 1973 with the Savonlinna town and the rest with Punkaharju municipality. It was located in the province of Eastern Finla ...

) is a Finnish former

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

runner. He won the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

in 1972 by an 18-second margin over Víctor Mora. In 1973 he finished third at the same race. During his career, Olavi Suomalainen sustained injuries and failed to qualify for the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

European Championships in Athletics The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics (sport), athletics event organised by the European Athletic Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions F ...

. He took the bronze medal at the Finnish Championship Marathon in the Olympic years 1972 and 1976. However, in 1976 gold medalist

Håkan Spik Håkan Spik (born 18 August 1951) is a Finnish long-distance runner. He competed in the marathon at the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and ...

, silver medalist

Jukka Toivola Jukka Olavi Toivola (7 September 1949 – 27 May 2011) was a male long-distance runner and teacher of chemistry from Finland. Born in Liperi, North Karelia, Toivola represented his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics in the men's marathon, ...

, and

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, Pa ...

were nominated to the Olympic Marathon. Suomalainens winning time 2:15:39 at the 1972's

remained his personal best. Olavi Suomalainen has a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

Achievements

References

External links

Report from the Boston Marathon 1972
by

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

Tilastopaja profile for Olavi Suomalainen (in Finnish)
1947 births Living people Sportspeople from Savonlinna Athletes from South Savo Finnish male long-distance runners Finnish male marathon runners Boston Marathon male winners Finnish Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Finnish sportsmen {{Finland-athletics-bio-stub