The matchups between Nurmi and Backman begin

Valhalla IP, Gothenburg, Sweden, May 22, 1921

Olympic champion Paavo Nurmi was invited to Sweden at the beginning of the season to compete against the Swedes’ renowned long-distance runner Eric Backman. Nurmi won the 5,000-metre race in Gothenburg with a time of 14:53.8, setting a personal best and going under 15 minutes for the first time during his career. This victory also gave Nurmi a 1–0 lead in their 1921 matchups. Remarkably, he lost one of his spiked shoes midway through the race, yet continued undeterred, battling the wind throughout.

The face-off between Nurmi and Backman was undoubtedly the highlight of the Gothenburg Games. Following the race, about half of the 1,500 spectators headed off to watch a football (soccer) match at Ullevi Stadium.

Newspaper Stories

• Idrottsbladet, 23 May 1921

• Suomen Urheilulehti, 26 May 1921

• Idrottsbladet, 30 May 1921

Rematch: Second victory for Nurmi

Tidaholm, Sweden, May 24, 1921

A few days later, the next competition took place on Backman's home turf in Tidaholm, west of Lake Vättern, with an even larger crowd than in Gothenburg. The 5,000-metre race saw Nurmi defeat the Swede once more, although his time exceeded 15 minutes as he focused solely on securing the win.

Newspaper Stories

• Idrottsbladet, May 30, 1921

• Suomen Urheilulehti, June 2, 1921

• Uusi Kotimaa, July 5, 1921

Nurmi the Fastest in the 4-Mile 

Urheilupuisto, Turku, Finland, May 28–29, 1921

The duels between Nurmi and Backman continued in Finland. The Turku international meet featured a four-mile race (6437 metres). The out-of-shape Backman was unable to provide any resistance this time either and fell a lap behind the victorious Nurmi. Backman finished third. 

Olympic champion Vilho Tuulos leaped 15.02 metres (49-3 ¼) in the triple jump, which held as the world-leading result until December when future Olympic champion Anthony Winter posted 15.15m (49-8  1/2) during Australia's summer. The Finnish sports magazine described Tuulos's jumps as "excellent, beautiful, and powerful."

Newspaper Stories

• Turun Sanomat, May 29, 1921 (in Finnish)

• Turun Sanomat, May 30, 1921 (in Finnish)

• Idrottsbladet, May 30, 1921 (in Swedish)

• Suomen Urheilulehti, June 2, 1921 (in Finnish)

• Suomen Urheilulehti, June 9, 1921 (photos)

• Suomen Urheilulehti, June 23, 1921 (in Finnish)

Nurmi Wins the Mile with Ease

Stadium, Stockholm, July 10, 1921

The “Flying Finn” Paavo Nurmi competed again in Stockholm in July, this time over the mile. Nurmi wasn’t chasing records, aiming only to secure the Dickson Trophy. His time of 4:13.9 was just 1.3 seconds off the world record for the distance. It also ranked him second for the season, a mere tenth behind Olympic champion Albert Hill. It’s likely the world record would have fallen had Nurmi not eased off in the final stretch.

Nurmi experimented with a pacing strategy that he would later apply at the Paris Olympics in 1924. He started at a breakneck speed, only to ease off for the latter part of the race.

Newspaper Stories

• Idrottsbladet, July 11, 1921 (in Swedish)

• Idrottsbladet, July 22, 1921 (in Swedish)

Paavo Nurmi competed in Paris after mid-July, despite the fact that the competitions held in the French capital at the beginning of the month did not fit into the calendar. The man from Turku won the three-mile race (4828 metres) with a time of 14:31, which corresponds to approximately 15:06 for 5000 metres. Britain's Hatton finished over 20 seconds behind. The crowd warmly greeted the flying Finn, and the organisers raised the Finnish flag during the race.

Newspaper Stories

• Suomen Urheilulehti, July 21, 1921 (in Finnish)