Hohe Warte Stadium, Vienna | 21 September 1926
Following his engagements in Berlin and Düsseldorf, Paavo Nurmi continued his brief tour of Central Europe. Before an assembly of some twelve thousand spectators in Vienna, he sped over the five-thousand-metre course to record a world's leading mark of 14:34.0. This performance, achieved within a handicap event and before a football match, fell short of the world's record—which remains in the runner's own keeping—by some six seconds. Upon his return to his native soil, the master praised his effort as the finest five-thousand-metre race of his career, notwithstanding that the world's record was not toppled. Indeed, the temperature in Austria had stood at a mere 12 degrees.
Prior to the race, the journals of Vienna reported that Nurmi had demanded an appearance fee of two thousand dollars, in addition to travelling and lodging expenses. In the end, the remuneration was beaten down to one thousand dollars. Wrathful at the press accounts, Nurmi declared that the moneys were destined for the Finnish Federation and not for himself. Following protracted negotiations, however, the flying Finn consented to take to the track.
The Viennese fixture was a veritable exhibition run. Prior to Nurmi's appearance upon the turf, the German Deutschmeister musicians performed a march and a waltz, after which five hundred athletes of both sexes engaged in a ceremonial lap of honour. Teams of twelve women demonstrated the principles of the relay race, which was followed, in conclusion, by a match at women's team handball.
Helsingin Sanomat, September 23, 1926 (in Finnish)
Helsingin Sanomat, September, 27, 1926 (Nurmi commenting upon his European tour, in Finnish)