Harri Olli

Last updated
Harri Olli
Harri Olli, Lahti 17.2.2015.jpg
Olli in Lahti, 2015
CountryFlag of Finland.svg  Finland
Full nameHarri Juhani Olli
Born (1985-01-15) 15 January 1985 (age 39)
Rovaniemi, Finland
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Personal best225.5 m (740 ft)
Oberstdorf, 14 February 2009
World Cup career
Seasons
Starts98
Podiums7
Wins3
Medal record
Men's ski jumping
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2007 Sapporo Individual LH
Men's ski flying
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2008 Oberstdorf Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Planica Team
Updated on 20 March 2018.

Harri Juhani Olli (born 15 January 1985) is a Finnish former ski jumper who competed at World Cup level from 2002 to 2016. He scored three individual World Cup wins, four individual Continental Cup wins, and an individual silver medal at the 2007 World Championships.

Contents

Career

Before the FIS Ski Flying World Championships 2008 in Oberstdorf, Olli had had a night out in a bar. [1] Nonetheless both his jumps were over 200 metres, which gave him the sixth place in the final results.

In August 2008 Olli was dismissed from the national team for a second time. He had been drunk during the Summer Grand Prix tour in central Europe and was late for the ride to the competition venue next morning. [2] In July the police caught Olli for drunk driving and heavy speeding near Lapinlahti. [1] Olli won one competition and placed third in another during the Summer tour. Olli took his first World Cup win in Oberstdorf on 14 February 2009 with both jumps over 200 metres, including a hill record of 225.5 m which has stood for 8 years. He has since won two more World Cup events, both in early 2009.

Olli again had alcohol-related problems before the opening of the 2009/10 season. He was having a dispute with his fiancée in a bar room and a drinking glass was used as a striking weapon. [3]

His 2009/10 season was characterized by sporadic bouts of good form. For much of the early season he maintained a position in the pre-qualified top 10, but as his performance curve dipped and he dropped outside the pre-qualified places, he sometimes did not qualify at all—something that seemed less to do with talent and more to do with attitude. Upon questioning by British Eurosport commentator David Goldstrom, the Finnish coach Janne Väätäinen stated that Olli's apparent disinterest stemmed more from "frustration" and shyness than a bad attitude to ski jumping. [4] The Finnish team nonetheless maintained faith in his ability and talent and during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Olli competed in all three events, although he was disqualified in the normal hill event due to a suit violation. In the large hill event Olli placed 18th, the highest ranking Finn, after a poor first effort and the disqualification of Janne Happonen, as well as Janne Ahonen's knee injury. [5] In the team event, Olli acted as anchorman in place of Ahonen, improving under the weight of responsibility and making two very good and consistent efforts. However, due to a sudden flurry of good form for the Norwegian team, Finland placed just outside the medals in a closely fought final round. [6]

In the 2009/10 World Cup season, Olli finished 14th overall; 13th in the ski flying standings; 12th in the Four Hills Tournament; and 11th in the Nordic Tour. [7]

In the 2010 Summer Grand Prix, Olli finished 11th overall. [7]

On 28 November 2010 Olli was suspended by the FIS for one competition after 'flipping the bird' to the media camera after his poor qualification jump of 77 m which left him in 57th place.[ clarification needed ] Subsequently, the Finnish Ski Association suspended Olli from the national team for an undisclosed period of time; this was now the third time in as many years that Olli had been suspended from the national team. [8] Finnish coach Pekka Niemelä stated in an interview after the incident that Olli had "personal problems", but there was speculation that Olli felt he was "thrown under the bus" by the event jury's decision to make him jump despite the bad wind conditions—conditions which the wind and gate compensation system did not seem able to adequately resolve. [9]

In an interview on the FIS Ski Jumping website, Olli stated that he had "no goals" for the 2010/11 season, other than to be an "all-round happy athlete" and to "jump well". When asked as to whether he was certain that the season would be successful, Olli replied "I'm not sure about that." [10] On 21 December 2013 in Lahti, he restarted his active career in the Continental Cup [11] and had sporadic appearances in the latter half of the 2014–15 World Cup season.

Olli is a student of Mathematics at the University of Rovaniemi, although his place of residence is Lahti.

World Cup

Standings

 Season Overall4HSFNT
2002/03 N/A
2003/04 70N/A
2005/06 3645N/A21
2006/07 2821N/A29
2007/08 26N/A
2008/09 47Silver medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svg
2009/10 14121311
2010/11 82N/A
2014/15 8554N/A

Wins

No.SeasonDateLocationHillSize
1 2008/09 14 February 2009   Flag of Germany.svg Oberstdorf Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze HS213 (night)FH
213 March 2009   Flag of Norway.svg Lillehammer Lysgårdsbakken HS138 (night)LH
322 March 2009   Flag of Slovenia.svg Planica Letalnica bratov Gorišek HS215FH

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Ammann</span> Swiss ski jumper

Simon Ammann is a Swiss ski jumper. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport, having won four individual Winter Olympic gold medals in 2002 and 2010. His other achievements include winning the 2007 Ski Jumping World Championships, the 2010 Ski Flying World Championships, the 2010 Nordic Tournament, and the 2010 Ski Jumping World Cup overall title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Hills Tournament</span> Annual ski jumping event in Germany and Austria

The Four Hills Tournament or the German-Austrian Ski Jumping Week is a ski jumping event composed of four World Cup events and has taken place in Germany and Austria each year since 1953. With few exceptions, it has consisted of the ski jumping events held at Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen, in this order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janne Ahonen</span> Finnish ski jumper and drag racer (born 1977)

Janne Petteri Ahonen is a Finnish former ski jumper and drag racer. He competed in ski jumping between 1992 and 2018, and is one of the sport's most successful athletes of all time, as well as one of the most successful from Finland. Ahonen won two consecutive World Cup overall titles, the Four Hills Tournament a record five times, two individual gold medals at the World Championships, and the Nordic Tournament once. Nicknamed Kuningaskotka, he has been described as the greatest ski jumper to have never won an individual medal at the Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakub Janda</span> Czech ski jumper and politician

Jakub Janda is a Czech politician and former ski jumper. In ski jumping he competed from 1996 to 2017, winning the 2005/06 World Cup and 2005/06 Four Hills Tournament, as well as silver and bronze medals at the 2005 World Championships. Janda is one of the most successful ski jumpers from the Czech Republic, and is the only Czech World Cup champion to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Schmitt</span> German ski jumper

Martin Schmitt is a German former ski jumper who competed from 1997 to 2014. He is one of Germany's most successful ski jumpers, having won the World Cup twice; a gold medal at the Winter Olympics; four gold medals at the World Championships; and a ski flying world record. His and his countryman Sven Hannawald's success further popularized ski jumping in Germany, and with particular help from cable TV station RTL, their coverage received great acclaim in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Morgenstern</span> Austrian ski jumper

Thomas Morgenstern is an Austrian former ski jumper who competed from 2002 to 2014. He is one of the most successful ski jumpers of all time, having won the World Cup overall title twice with 23 individual wins, the Four Hills Tournament and the Nordic Tournament once each, eight World Championship gold medals, and three Winter Olympic gold medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ski flying</span> Individual sport discipline derived from ski jumping

Ski flying is a winter sport discipline derived from ski jumping, in which much greater distances can be achieved. It is a form of competitive individual Nordic skiing where athletes descend at high speed along a specially designed takeoff ramp using skis only; jump from the end of it with as much power as they can generate; then glide – or 'fly' – as far as possible down a steeply sloped hill; and ultimately land within a target zone in a stable manner. Points are awarded for distance and stylistic merit by five judges. Events are governed by the International Ski Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matti Hautamäki</span> Finnish ski jumper

Matti Antero Hautamäki is a Finnish former ski jumper who competed from 1997 to 2012. He is one of Finland's most successful ski jumpers, having won sixteen individual World Cup competitions; multiple medals at the Winter Olympics, Ski Jumping World Championships and Ski Flying World Championships; the Nordic Tournament twice; and four ski flying world records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreas Kofler</span> Austrian ski jumper

Andreas Kofler is an Austrian former ski jumper.

The 2006–07 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup was the 28th World Cup season. It began in Kuusamo, Finland on 24 November 2006 and finished in Planica, Slovenia on 25 March 2007. Adam Małysz, Poland won the individual World Cup. e.on Ruhrgas was this season's main sponsor, and therefore, this season's leader's jersey was red, in reference to the company, rather than the traditional yellow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregor Schlierenzauer</span> Austrian ski jumper

Gregor Schlierenzauer is an Austrian former ski jumper who competed from 2006 to 2021. He is one of the most successful ski jumpers of all time, having won the Ski Jumping World Cup overall title, the Four Hills Tournament, and Nordic Tournament twice each; the Ski Flying World Cup overall title three times; as well as four medals at the Winter Olympics, twelve at the Ski Jumping World Championships, and five at the Ski Flying World Championships.

The 2006–07 Four Hills Tournament was a series of ski jumping competitions held in the traditional venues of Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen, located in Germany and Austria. The tournament was part of the 2006–07 Ski Jumping World Cup and points scored in each of the four competitions also counted towards the World Cup rankings. Before the tournament started on 28 December 2006 the World Cup leader was Simon Ammann.

The ski jumping at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 was part of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 that took place in Sapporo, Japan, on February 24, February 25, and March 3, 2007.

The 2007–08 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup was the 29th World Cup season in history. The season began on 1 December 2007 in Kuusamo, and finished on 16 March 2008 in Planica. The season was dominated by Austrian pair Thomas Morgenstern and Gregor Schlierenzauer who between them won 16 of the 27 individual competitions.

The 2008–09 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup was the 30th World Cup season in ski jumping and the 12th official World Cup season in ski flying. It began on 29 November 2008 at the Rukatunturi ski jumping hill in Kuusamo, Finland, and finished on 22 March 2009 at Planica, Slovenia.

At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, Czech Republic, four Nordic combined were held. It also showed the biggest format changes since the introduction of the Gundersen method at the 1985 World Championships in Seefeld, Austria. In addition to the 10 km mass start event, there were changes in the Gundersen-based individual events. The 7.5 km sprint event was changed to a 10 km individual large hill event while the 15 km individual event was changed to a 10 km individual normal hill event with both being approved in September 2008. These changes also affected the Nordic combined program for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver though the mass start was excluded. The United States, which had two medals in Nordic combined prior to this championships, won a total of four medals with three golds and a bronze. Todd Lodwick, whose previous best individual finish at the world championships was 13th in the 7.5 km sprint at Oberstdorf in 2005, won golds in the 10 km mass start and 10 km individual normal hill events. His teammate Bill Demong won a gold in the 10 km individual large hill and bronze in the 10 km individual normal hill events. Germans Tino Edelmann and Björn Kircheisen each won a silver in the 4 x 5 km freestyle team event, then won individual silver medals in the 10 km mass start and 10 km individual large hills events, respectively. France's Jason Lamy Chappuis earned two bronze medals, earning them in the 10 km individual large hill and 10 km mass start. Norway's Jan Schmid won a silver in the 10 km mass start and a bronze in the 4 x 5 km freestyle event. A fourth American medal was prevented when Demong was disqualified in the ski jumping part of the 4 x 5 km freestyle team event for failing to wear his bib during competition, dropping the US to 12th and forcing their withdrawal from the cross country portion of the event. The Japanese won their first gold medal at the championships in the team event since 1995 when they edged the Germans in a photo finish. Current World Cup leader Anssi Koivuranta of Finland has a disappointing world championships, earning his best finish of fourth both in the 10 km individual normal hill and 10 km mass start events. Norway's Magnus Moan, second in the World Cup standings, also had a disappointing championships as well, with a best place finish of fifth in the 10 km individual large hill events even though he set the fastest cross-country skiing portion time in both the 10 km individual large hill and the 10 km individual normal hill events.

The 2009–10 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup was the 31st World Cup season in ski jumping and the 13th official World Cup season in ski flying. It started on 26 November 2009 at the Rukatunturi ski jumping hill in Kuusamo, Finland and finished on 14 March 2010 at Holmenkollen, Norway.

The men's normal hill individual ski jumping competition for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada was held on 12 and 13 February 2010 at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia. It was the first medal event of the 2010 Games.

The FIS Ski Flying World Ski Championships 2008 took place on 21–24 February 2008 in Oberstdorf, Germany for the record tying fifth time, matching that of Planica, Slovenia. Oberstdorf hosted the championships previously in 1973, 1981, 1988, and 1998. For the first time, both events were held in the evening. Finland's Janne Ahonen won his record seventh medal though none of them have been gold with five silvers and two bronzes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004–05 Four Hills Tournament</span>

The 53rd edition of the annual Four Hills Tournament was held in the traditional venues: Oberstorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany, and Innsbruck and Bischofshofen in Austria.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ongelmahyppääjä Harri Olli saa syytteet törttöilyistään | Urheilu". Iltalehti.fi. 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  2. "Urheilu - Ilta-Sanomat". Iltasanomat.fi. Archived from the original on August 9, 2008. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  3. "Päivän lehti - Helsingin Sanomat" (in Finnish). Hs.fi. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  4. British Europsort Commentary in the Large Hill Training Round (prior to qualification)- 19 February 2010, Vancouver Olympics, 6pm CET, Eurosport UK
  5. British Eurosport Commentary in the Large Hill Event- 20 February 2010, Vancouver Olympics, 7pm CET, Eurosport UK
  6. British Eurosport Commentary in the Large Hill Team Event- 22 February 2010, Vancouver Olympics, 7pm CET, Eurosport UK
  7. 1 2 "Olli, Harri". Fis-ski.com. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  8. "Ski Jumping - FIS-SKI". Fisskijumping.com. 2015-03-22. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  9. Video on YouTube
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "OLLI Harri - Biographie". Data.fis-ski.com. Retrieved 2015-04-16.