The Resume

(June 13, 1897-October 2, 1973)
Won 9 Olympic gold medals
Won 3 Olympic silver medals
Set 25 world records

Why he might be annoying:

He was always reclusive.
He never acknowledged the crowd, not even when he was the final torchbearer at the 1952 Helsinki Games.
He said 'I ran for myself, not Finland.'
He accepted under-the-table cash payments during the time of strict amateurism.
His obsession with running interfered with his marriage and his wife divorced him after just a year.
He wanted to end his career at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics by running the marathon, but charges of professionalism prevented him from competing.

Why he might not be annoying:

He is considered one of the greatest long-distance runners.
At the 1924 Paris Olympics, he won the 1500m gold and 5000m gold within an hour.
Also during the Paris Olympics, he won the cross-country gold in conditions so hot and torturous, half the runners dropped out (some were hospitalized).
He was hugely responsible for Finland's dominance in long-distance running before WW II.
He never denied accepting money for running and considered the Olympics' standards of amateurism hypocritical.
After his running career, he ran a successful haberdashery store.
He willed his entire estate to heart research.

Credit: U.N.L. FratBrat

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• An Asteroid was Named in My Honor (Ranked: 1740)
• I am Finnish
• I Died in 1973 (Ranked: 76)
• I Lit the Summer Olympic Torch (Ranked: 1952)
• I Won Five or More Olympic Gold Medals (Ranked: 9)
• Look at Me, I'm Postage
• Look at My Flag
• Profiles 15751-16000 (Ranked: 15972)
• Recluses
• Track and Field
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 19731002)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 30.77% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 19 Votes: 31.58% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 21 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 26 Votes: 42.31% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 34 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 105 Votes: 55.24% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 113 Votes: 48.67% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 38 Votes: 52.63% Annoying