Four time Olympic Champion Lasse Viren is elected to Finnish
Parliament
Chris Turner for IAAF
In the Finnish elections held on March 21st, Munich & Montreal Olympic 5000 & 10,000m gold medallist Lasse Viren was elected with 8.173 votes to the Finnish Parliament for the Myrskyla area (Southern Finland, North of Helsinki). This was the third attempt Lasse had made to become elected as an MP.
It was certainly third time lucky, as of all his party’s candidates, Lasse received the second highest number of votes. Only his party leader Leena Harkimo (wife of Hjallis Harkimo, owner of Helsinki’s giant indoor Hartwall Arena and Helsinki’s top Ice Hockey Club "Jokerit") received more votes (11.858 votes). Lasse’s party got nine members to Parliament.
Significantly, Viren’s campaign had played on his athletics fame. Lasse’s election address leaflet had printed on its front, the famous picture of him getting up to his feet after his fall in the Munich 10,000m, which went on to win in a world record.
Finally, in the same election, 1983 World 110m hurdles silver medallist Arto Bryggare, didn’t manage to succeed with 3.727 votes in the Helsinki area.