Kerttu Niskanen

Last updated
Kerttu Niskanen
Kerttu Niskanen, 3a i RPS 2013.jpg
Niskanen in 2013
CountryFlag of Finland.svg  Finland
Full nameKerttu Elina Niskanen
Born (1988-06-13) 13 June 1988 (age 36)
Oulu, Finland
Ski clubVieremän Koitto
World Cup career
Seasons17 – (2008–present)
Starts298
Podiums23
Wins8
Overall titles0 – (3rd in 2023 )
Discipline titles1 – (DI in 2023)
Medal record
Women's cross-country skiing
Representing Flag of Finland.svg  Finland
Event1st2nd3rd
Olympic Games 031
World Championships 002
Total033
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2014 Sochi Team sprint
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2014 Sochi 4 × 5 km relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2022 Beijing 10 km classical
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2022 Beijing 30 km freestyle
World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2015 Falun 4 × 5 km relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2017 Lahti 4 × 5 km relay
U23 World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2010 Hinterzarten 10 km classical
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2011 Otepää Individual sprint
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2009 Praz de Lys-Sommand Individual sprint
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2011 Otepää 15 km skiathlon
Junior World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2007 Tarvisio4 × 3.33 km relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2008 Mals4 × 3.33 km relay
Updated on 17 March 2024.

Kerttu Elina Niskanen (born 13 June 1988) is a Finnish cross-country skier. She is a four-time Olympic medalist.

Contents

Career

At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Oslo, her first senior WCH, Niskanen finished eighth in the 10 km classical event. [1] To date, her best individual World Championship results are 4th places in the skiathlon and 30 km classical in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2015 in Falun.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, she won two silver medals as a member of team Finland: in 4 × 5 km relay and in team sprint. She also finished fourth in 30 km freestyle.

Niskanen also has two bronze medals from World Championship 4 x 5 km relays in 2015 and 2017. She has won three World Cup competitions and has been on the podium ten times in total. Her best result in the Tour de Ski is 5th, which she achieved three times in 2014, 2016, and 2022.

She was forced to sit out the 2021 World Championships after a fracture was discovered in her left fibula after a World Cup race in Falun, Sweden, in January 2021. [2] Despite the sudden, sharp pain from the fracture, Niskanen finished the race in 12th place. This was her final race of the season.

During the 2021/22 season, Niskanen took her first win and podium in three years when she won the 10 km classical Stage World Cup race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Following the win, she became the Tour de Ski leader for the first time in her career. Niskanen eventually finished fifth in the tournament.

At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Niskanen won her first individual Olympic medal, a silver in the 10 km classical event, losing the gold medal to Therese Johaug of Norway by only 0.4 seconds. She also placed fourth in the skiathlon, which was already her fourth 4th-place finish in individual Olympic or World Championship competitions. The team events also resulted in fourth place for Niskanen; she skied the 3rd leg in the 4 x 5 km relay and the first, third, and fifth legs of the team sprint. In both events, Finland was a strong medal contender and missed out on medals by only a couple of seconds.

In the last event of the Olympics, the 30 km freestyle held in grueling, windy conditions, Niskanen won her second individual medal, this time a bronze. For most of the race, Niskanen, whose stronger style is often considered classic, skied in fourth place at the front of a chase group. In the final kilometre, however, Niskanen overtook Ebba Andersson of Sweden, who at 25 km had been half a minute ahead of her, seizing the bronze as the fastest of the chasers.

Kerttu Niskanen's younger brother Iivo is also a cross-country skier and three-time Olympic champion. On 29 December 2021, the siblings made history as they won the 10 and 15 km World Cup events in Lenzerheide only hours apart. [3] At the finale of the 2021/22 season, they shared a World Cup podium for the first time, having taken part in the mixed relay event where Finland placed second. Between them, the Niskanen siblings have won nine Olympic and five World Championship medals.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS). [4]

Olympic Games

 Year  Age  10 km 
 individual 
 15 km 
 skiathlon 
 30 km 
 mass start 
 Sprint  4 × 5 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
2014 25 8 7 4 Silver Silver
2018 29 16 6 23 4
2022 33 Silver 4 Bronze 4 4

World Championships

 Year  Age  10 km 
 individual 
 15 km 
 skiathlon 
 30 km 
 mass start 
 Sprint  4 × 5 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
2011 22 8
2013 24 12 7 9 5
2015 26 8 4 4 7 Bronze
2017 28 6 DNF Bronze 5
2019 30 22
2023 34 9 5 6 4

World Cup

FIS Crystal Globe.svg SeasonDiscipline
2023 Distance

Season standings

 Season  Age Discipline standingsSki Tour standings
OverallDistanceSprintNordic
Opening
Tour de
Ski
Ski Tour
2020
World Cup
Final
Ski Tour
Canada
2008 19NCNC
2009 20674555DNF
2010 21725758DNF
2011 22363040DNF19
2012 233227392516
2013 2411122112175
2014 255Bronze medal icon.svg282354
2015 261412419DNF
2016 279631557
2017 28883714611
2018 291094219611
2019 3042217934
2020 311511431211DNF
2021 322824659DNF
2022 3376255
2023 34Bronze medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svg22Silver medal icon.svg
2024 355417Bronze medal icon.svg

Individual podiums

  • 8 victories – (4 WC, 4 SWC)
  • 23 podiums – (13 WC, 10 SWC)
No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlace
1 2012–13 20 March 2013 Flag of Sweden.svg Stockholm, Sweden1.1 km Sprint CStage World Cup3rd
2 2013–14 1 January 2014 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Lenzerheide, Switzerland10 km Mass Start CStage World Cup1st
39 March 2014 Flag of Norway.svg Oslo, Norway30 km Mass Start CWorld Cup3rd
415 March 2014 Flag of Sweden.svg Falun, Sweden7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/FStage World Cup3rd
5 2014–15 13 December 2014 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Davos, Switzerland10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
6 2015–16 29 November 2015 Flag of Finland.svg Ruka, Finland10 km Pursuit CStage World Cup3rd
7 2016–17 8 January 2017 Flag of Italy.svg Val di Fiemme, Italy9 km Pursuit FStage World Cup3rd
812 March 2017 Flag of Norway.svg Oslo, Norway30 km Mass Start CWorld Cup3rd
9 2018–19 17 February 2019 Flag of Italy.svg Cogne, Italy10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
10 2021–22 29 December 2021 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Lenzerheide, Switzerland10 km Individual CStage World Cup1st
11 2022-23 10 December 2022 Flag of Norway.svg Beitostølen, Norway10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
121 January 2023 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Val Müstair, Switzerland10 km Pursuit CStage World Cup2nd
137 January 2023 Flag of Italy.svg Val di Fiemme, Italy15 km Mass Start CStage World Cup3rd
1431 December 2022
– 8 January 2023
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Italy.svg Tour de Ski Overall StandingsWorld Cup2nd
1529 January 2023 Flag of France.svg Les Rousses, France20 km Mass Start CWorld Cup2nd
1617 March 2023 Flag of Sweden.svg Falun, Sweden10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
17 2023-24 31 December 2023 Flag of Italy.svg Toblach, Italy10 km Individual CStage World Cup1st
184 January 2024 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Davos, Switzerland20 km Pursuit CStage World Cup1st
1930 December 2023
– 7 January 2024
Flag of Italy.svg Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Tour de Ski Overall StandingsWorld Cup3rd
2020 January 2024 Flag of Germany.svg Oberhof, Germany20 km Mass Start CWorld Cup3rd
2111 February 2024 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canmore, Canada20 km Mass Start CWorld Cup2nd
222 March 2024 Flag of Finland.svg Lahti, Finland20 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
2316 March 2024 Flag of Sweden.svg Falun, Sweden10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st

Team podiums

  • 7 podiums – (7 RL)
No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlaceTeammates
1 2012–13 20 January 2013 Flag of France.svg La Clusaz, France4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2nd Kyllönen / Saarinen / Roponen
2 2013–14 8 December 2013 Flag of Norway.svg Lillehammer, Norway4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2nd Saarinen / Kyllönen / Lähteenmäki
3 2015–16 6 December 2015 Flag of Norway.svg Lillehammer, Norway4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2nd Pärmäkoski / Mononen / Kyllönen
424 January 2016 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Nové Město, Czech Republic4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup3rd Kyllönen / Pärmäkoski / Roponen
5 2019–20 1 March 2020 Flag of Finland.svg Lahti, Finland4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2nd Matintalo / Mononen / Pärmäkoski
6 2020–21 24 January 2021 Flag of Finland.svg Lahti, Finland4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup3rd Matintalo / Mononen / Pärmäkoski
7 2021–22 13 March 2022 Flag of Sweden.svg Falun, Sweden4 × 5 km Mixed Relay FWorld Cup2nd Hyvärinen / I. Niskanen / Pärmäkoski

See also

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References

  1. Kerttu Niskanen at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
  2. Långkvist, Carl-Magnus (2021-02-01). "Tungt bakslag för Kerttu Niskanen – skada stoppar henne från VM". YLE (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  3. "Two Niskanens take the victories of Tour de Ski stage".
  4. "NISKANEN Kerttu". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 19 December 2019.