- Ran with a stop watch. Lit the Olympic torch at the 1952 games in Helsinki. Won nine gold and three silver medals (1920, 1924, 1928 Olympics).
- Uncle of Maila Nurmi, whose real name is Maila Nurmi.
- During his career, he broke world records in most distances from 1500 m to 10,000 m.
- After retiring from competitive running, he became a building contractor. He invested wisely, and made a considerable fortune, mainly in the housing industry. In the 1930's and 1940's, he sometimes took leave from his business commitments to train Finnish runners.
- At the Paris Olympic Games in 1924, he won won five gold medals: three individual ones and two in team events. He won the 1500 meters and 5000 m with less than two hours between the two finals.
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