Editing Ville Ritola (section)

== Paris Olympics 1924 ==

In 1923, American Finns started collecting funds to pay for Ville Ritola's trip to Finland, where in May 1924 he took part in the Finnish Olympic qualification competitions. In the 10,000 m qualifying race Ritola won with a [[10,000 metres world record progression|world record]] time of 30.35.4. This was Ritola's first official world record.<ref name=autogenerated3 />

At the [[1924 Summer Olympics|1924 Paris Olympics]], he won four gold and two silver medals. He had a start on eight consecutive days to achieve this, all long-distance.

In his first race, the 10,000 m, in the absence of Nurmi, he won by half a lap and obliterated his own fresh world record by more than 12 seconds. Finnish officials had selected Ritola for the race as Nurmi was already running in five other distance events.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/may/18/50-stunning-olympic-moments-paavo-nurmi |title=50 stunning Olympic moments No31: Paavo Nurmi wins 5,000m in 1924 |date=18 May 2012 |work=[[The Guardian]] |author=Burnton, Simon }}</ref> Three days later, Ritola won the [[3000 m steeplechase]] by 75 metres. The next day he finished second in the 5000 m, 0.2 seconds behind Nurmi. Ritola later earned another silver medal behind Nurmi in the individual cross-country race and gained a gold medal as a member of the Finnish cross-country team. Finally, Ritola joined Nurmi to win the 3000 m team race.<ref name=autogenerated2 />

Ritola's 1924 triumph in Paris is historical. His six medals from Paris is still the biggest number of medals won by an athlete in one Olympic games event. His four gold medals put him in second place after Paavo Nurmi in the number of gold medals won by an athlete in one Olympic Games event.<ref name=autogenerated1 />