He apologized for winningSourced
He beat a legendary runner.
The next morning, he brought him flowers.
Finnish runner Frej Liewendahl ended Paavo Nurmi's long winning streak in a 1,000-metre race in the 1920s. The following morning, Liewendahl went to Nurmi's hotel room with flowers to apologize. It was an unusual follow-up to a victory.
His first gesture after winning
was a bouquet.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Frej Liewendahl · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-01