Nurmi later coached Finnish runners, raised funds for Finland during the Winter War, and worked as a haberdasher, building contractor and share trader, eventually becoming one of Finland's richest people.

Nurmi intended to end his career on a marathon gold medal, as his idol Kolehmainen had done.

In 1914, Nurmi joined the sports club Turun Urheiluliitto and won his first race on the 3, 000 metres.

During the Finnish Civil War in 1918, Nurmi remained politically passive and concentrated on his work and his Olympic ambitions.

In the army, Nurmi quickly impressed in the athletic competitions: While others marched, Nurmi ran the whole distances with a rifle on his shoulder and a backpack full of sand.

Nurmi improvised new training methods in the army barracks ; he ran behind trains, holding on to the rear bumper, to stretch his stride, and used heavy iron-clad army boots to strengthen his legs.

Previously known for his blistering pace on the first few laps, Nurmi started to carry a stopwatch and spread his efforts more uniformly over the distance.

Nurmi set his first world record on the 10, 000 m in Stockholm in 1921.

In the 3, 000 m team race on the next day, Nurmi and Ritola again finished first and second, and Elias Katz secured the gold medal for the Finnish team by finishing fifth.

In early 1925, Nurmi embarked on a widely-publicized tour of the United States.

At the 1928 Olympic trials, Nurmi was left third in the 1, 500 m by eventual gold and bronze medalists Harri Larva and Eino Purje, and he decided to concentrate on the longer distances.

In the 5, 000 m, Nurmi tried to repeat his move on Ritola but had to watch his teammate pull away instead.

Nurmi stated to a Swedish newspaper that " this is absolutely my last season on the track.

In July 1931, Nurmi showed he still had pace for the shorter distances by beating Lauri Lehtinen, Lauri Virtanen and Volmari Iso-Hollo, and breaking the world record on the now-rare two miles.

The Guardian reported that " some of his trial times were almost unbelievable ," and Nurmi went on to train at the Olympic Village in Los Angeles despite his injury.

Nurmi had set his heart on ending his career with a marathon gold medal, as Kolehmainen had done shortly after the First World War.

The congress concluded without Nurmi being declared a professional, but the council's authority to disbar an athlete was upheld on a 13 – 12 vote.

Less than three weeks later, Nurmi retired from running with a 10, 000 m victory in Viipuri on 16 September 1934.

However, Nurmi returned to coaching three months later and the Finnish distance runners went on take three gold medals, three silvers and a bronze at the Games.

Nurmi also made money on the stock market, eventually becoming one of Finland's richest people.

When the national teams, assembled in formation on the infield, saw the flowing figure of Nurmi, they broke ranks like excited schoolchildren, dashing toward the edge of the track.

Nurmi ran for the last time on 18 February 1966 at the Madison Square Garden, invited by the New York Athletic Club.

Laaksonen, who was not interested in athletics, opposed Nurmi raising their newborn son Matti to be a runner and stated to the Associated Press in 1933 that " his concentration on athletics at last forced me to go to the judge for a divorce.

On the famous race on 11 July 1957 when the " three Olavis " ( Salsola, Salonen and Vuorisalo ) broke the world record for the 1, 500 m, Matti Nurmi finished a distant ninth with his personal best, 2. 2 seconds slower than his father's world record from 1924.

Acclaimed the biggest sporting figure in the world at his peak, Nurmi was averse to publicity and the media, stating later on his 75th birthday that " worldly fame and reputation are worth less than a rotten lingonberry.

Criswell's undead consort, the sexy Black Ghoul, was written for Maila Nurmi, a. k. a. Vampira, but was instead played by Fawn Silver, who wore a black bouffant wig.

At his peak, Nurmi was undefeated at distances from 800 m upwards for 121 races.

Born into a worker family, Nurmi left school at the age of 12 to provide for his family.

Seemingly untouched by the Paris heat wave, Nurmi won all his races and returned home with five gold medals, but embittered, as Finnish officials had refused to enter him for the 10, 000 m.

Nurmi, who rarely ran without a stopwatch in his hand, has been credited for introducing the " even pace " strategy and analytic approach to running, and for making running a major international sport.

Nurmi, a talented student, left school to work as an errand boy for a bakery.

Nurmi soon began setting personal bests and got close for the Olympic selection.

In 1922, he broke the world records for the 2, 000 m, the 3, 000 m and the 5, 000 m. A year later, Nurmi added the records for the 1, 500 m and the mile.

After excelling in mathematics, Nurmi graduated as an engineer in 1923 and returned home to prepare for the upcoming Olympic Games.

On 19 June, Nurmi tried out the 1924 Olympic schedule by running the 1, 500 m and the 5, 000 m inside an hour, setting new world records for both distances.

After returning to Finland, Nurmi set a 10, 000 m world record that would last for almost 13 years.

Nurmi defeated Joie Ray and Lloyd Hahn to win the mile and Ritola to win the 5, 000 m, again setting new world records for both distances.

Nurmi broke ten more indoor world records in regular events and set several new best times for rarer distances.

Nurmi struggled to maintain motivation for running, heightened by his rheumatism and Achilles tendon problems.

In 1926, Nurmi broke Wide's world record for the 3, 000 m in Berlin and then improved the record in Stockholm, despite Nils Eklöf repeatedly trying to slow his pace down in an effort to aid Wide.

This marked the first time in over five years and 133 races that Nurmi had been defeated at a distance over 1, 000 m. In 1927, Finnish officials barred him from international competition for refusing to run against Eklöf at the Finland-Sweden international, cancelling the Peltzer rematch scheduled for Vienna.

Before the 5, 000 m final, Nurmi injured himself in his qualifying heat for the 3, 000 m steeplechase.

Nurmi was seven seconds slower than in his world record run in 1925, and it was immediately speculated if the mile had become too short a distance for him.