大象传媒

In 1972, a little-known Finnish distance runner won the Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m double.

That man was Lasse Viren and he instantly became a legend in a country that was already famed for its distance running through the achievements of the in the early part of the 20th Century.

But of that trio, only had achieved the double, in 1912.

Czech legend Emil Z谩topek (1952) and Soviet great Vladimir Kuts (1956) are the only other athletes who had completed the double.

Viren first surfaced at the 1971 European Championships, but it was his compatriot Juha V盲盲t盲inen who triumphed, winning both distance races.

Nothing much was expected of the 23-year-old at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and when he fell on the 12th lap of the 10,000m his medal chances appeared over.

But Viren rose quickly, closed the gap and produced an astonishing last 600m to win the race and break in the process.

In the 5,000m, Viren set a new Olympic record as he held off the challenge of Tunisia's reigning champion Mohammed Gammoudi and Britain's Ian Stewart.

Four years later in Montreal, he became the first, and only, man to repeat the double.

That too was not without incident though.

One day after his 27th birthday, Viren won the 10,000m and took his shoes off and waved them to the crowd as he completed his lap of honour.

The International Olympic Committee took offence, believing he was showing off the sponsor's logo. Viren protested his innocence and that he had a blister.

But the IOC banned him from running in the 5,000m final, only rescinding two hours before the race following an appeal.

He won after producing a final 1500m that would have seen him finish fourth in that event.

Just 18 hours later, he lined up for the marathon in an attempt to emulate Zatopek's 1952 triple, but he could only finish fifth.

The fact that Viren only seemed to peak at Olympics .

His unique double-double is unlikely to be ever matched, but where does he fit on your all-time list of best distance runners?