Taisto Mäki

Mäki breaks the 30-minute barrier over 10000 m in 1939
Personal information
Born	2 December 1910 Rekola, Finland
Died	1 May 1979 (aged 68)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	1500-10000 m
Achievements and titles
Personalbest(s)	1500 m – 3:53.5 (1939) 5000 m – 14:08.8 (1939) 10000 m – 29:52.6 (1939)[1]
Medal record Representing Finland European Championships 1938 Paris 5000 m

Taisto Armas Mäki (2 December 1910 – 1 May 1979) was aFinnishlong-distance runner – one of the so-called "Flying Finns".^[2] Like his coach and close friend,Paavo Nurmi, Mäki brokeworld records overtwo miles,5000 metres and10,000 metres – holding the records simultaneously between 1939 and 1942.^[2] Mäki was the first man to run 10,000 metres in less than 30 minutes, breaking his own world record in a time of 29:52.6 on 17 September 1939.^[3]

Mäki was born inRekola in themunicipality ofVantaa. He was ashepherd by trade, earning him the nickname "Rekolan paimenpoika" (the "Rekola herdboy").^[3] At a time when Finland dominated men's long-distance running, Mäki did not come to prominence until 1938. In September of that year, in what proved to be his only appearance at a major championships, he won the 5000 metres at theEuropean Championships inParis, beatingSwedeHenry Jonsson and fellow FinnKauko Pekuri into second and third place with a time of 14:26.8.^[4] On 29 September 1938, less than four weeks after winning in Paris, Mäki broke the10,000 metres world record for the first time, beatingIlmari Salminen's old record by more than three seconds in a time of 30:02.0.^[5] Mäki went on to break five world records during the following summer.^[2] On 7 June he took close to three seconds offMiklós Szabó's two mile world record, running a time of 8:53.2 in theHelsinki Olympic Stadium.^[6] Nine days later, in the same stadium, he took over eight seconds offLauri Lehtinen'sworld record over 5000 metres.^[7] He followed these performances by taking close to ten seconds off his own 10,000 m world record, running 29:52.6 on 17 September.^[5]

TheWinter War between Finland and theSoviet Union broke out on 30 November 1939. Like many of his fellow Flying Finns, includingGunnar Höckert and Lauri Lehtinen, Mäki was initially deployed on theKarelian Isthmus.^[2] However, along with Paavo Nurmi, he was sent on a tour of theUnited States in February 1940 in order to raise money for the Finnish Relief Fund. During the tour, which lasted for two months and culminated in an appearance in front of 14,000 people atMadison Square Garden, the two men raced against hand-picked American athletes. Mäki's times during the tour were well below those he had set the previous summer, the cause of which was a matter of much debate at the time.^[2] Mäki's career was cut short by service inWorld War II. The conflict had also caused the cancellation of the1940 Summer Olympics inHelsinki, and with it ending Mäki's hopes of representing his country at the Olympic Games.^[8]

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Records
Preceded by Miklós Szabó	Men's Two Miles World Record Holder 7 June 1939 – 3 June 1942	Succeeded by Gunder Hägg
Preceded by Lauri Lehtinen	Men's 5000 m World Record Holder 16 June 1939 – 20 September 1942	Succeeded by Gunder Hägg
Preceded by Ilmari Salminen	Men's 10,000 m World Record Holder 29 September 1938 – 25 August 1944	Succeeded by Viljo Heino

• 1910 births
• 1979 deaths
• Sportspeople from Vantaa
• Sportspeople from Uusimaa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland)
• Finnish male long-distance runners
• World record setters in athletics (track and field)
• European Athletics Championships medalists
• 20th-century Finnish sportsmen

• CS1: unfit URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2016
• Commons category link is on Wikidata