Pekka Päivärinta

{{Short description|Finnish athlete (born 1949)}}

{{for|the motorcycle racer|Pekka Päivärinta (motorcycle racer)}}

{{MedalTableTop|sport=Men's athletics|country_code=FIN|medals=

{{Medal|Competition|World Cross Country Championships}}

{{Medal|Gold |1973 Waregem|Senior race}}

{{Medal|Competition|European Indoor Championships }}

{{Medal|Silver | 1975 Katowice | 3 000 meters }}

{{Medal|Silver | 1977 San Sebastián | 3 000 meters }}

{{Medal|Bronze | 1973 Rotterdam | 3 000 meters }}

}}

Pekka Johannes Päivärinta (born 4 May 1949 in Aura) is a Finnish former long-distance runner. He won men's senior race in the first World Championships of cross-country running in 1973. He competed in 1972 Olympics at 3000-meter steeplechase finishing 8th. In 1976 Olympics he competed in 5000 meters and finished 13th. In 1975, he broke world record in 25000 meters running by his result 1:14:16,8. The record was broken by Bill Rodgers in 1979.{{cite book | last=Laitinen | first=Esa | author-link=Esa Laitinen | title = Suomen yleisurheilun tilasto-osa | year = 1987}}

Contrary to his fellow Finnish long-distance runner — and age mate — Lasse Virén, Päivärinta underachieved in the major outdoor international championships of his active running career. On the other hand, he defeated Virén several times in the local and national Finnish races. One apparent obstacle to his success in the major international championships was that he ran badly in hot and humid conditions. This would partly explain his nineteenth place at 10,000 metres and thirteenth place at 5,000 metres in the 1974 European Athletics Championships, and his dropping out of the 10,000-metre heats in the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics.{{cite book | last=Raevuori | first=Antero | title = Lasse Virén - Kullatut piikkarit | year = 1977}}{{cite book | last = Siukonen | first = Markku | title = Suuri EM-kirja | publisher = Sportti-Kustannus Ltd. | year = 1990 | location = Jyväskylä }}