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Kerttu Niskanen

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Kerttu Niskanen
Niskanen in 2013
Country 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  Finland
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 3 1
World Championships 0 0 2
Total 0 3 3
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Sochi Team sprint
Silver medal – second place 2014 Sochi 4 × 5 km relay
Silver medal – second place 2022 Beijing 10 km classical
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Beijing 30 km freestyle
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Falun 4 × 5 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Lahti 4 × 5 km relay
U23 World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Hinterzarten 10 km classical
Gold medal – first place 2011 Otepää Individual sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Praz de Lys-Sommand Individual sprint
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Otepää 15 km skiathlon
Junior World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Tarvisio 4 × 3.33 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Mals 4 × 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.

Career

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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

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

Olympic Games

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  • 4 medals – (3 silver, 1 bronze)
 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

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  • 2 medals – (2 bronze)
 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

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  • 1 title – (1 distance)
Season Discipline
2023 Distance

Season standings

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 Season   Age  Discipline standings Ski Tour standings
Overall Distance Sprint Nordic
Opening 		Tour de
Ski 		Ski Tour
2020 		World Cup
Final 		Ski Tour
Canada
2008 19 NC NC — — — — — —
2009 20 67 45 55 — — — DNF —
2010 21 72 57 58 — — — DNF —
2011 22 36 30 40 — DNF — 19 —
2012 23 32 27 39 25 16 — — —
2013 24 11 12 21 12 17 — 5 —
2014 25 5 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 28 23 5 — 4 —
2015 26 14 12 41 9 DNF — — —
2016 27 9 6 31 5 5 — — 7
2017 28 8 8 37 14 6 — 11 —
2018 29 10 9 42 19 6 — 11 —
2019 30 42 21 79 — — — 34 —
2020 31 15 11 43 12 11 DNF — —
2021 32 28 24 65 9 DNF — — —
2022 33 7 6 25 — 5 — — —
2023 34 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 22 — 2nd place, silver medalist(s) — — —
2024 35 5 4 17 — 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) — — —

Individual podiums

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  • 8 victories – (4 WC, 4 SWC)
  • 23 podiums – (13 WC, 10 SWC)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1 2012–13 20 March 2013 Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 1.1 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 3rd
2 2013–14 1 January 2014 Switzerland Lenzerheide, Switzerland 10 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 1st
3 9 March 2014 Norway Oslo, Norway 30 km Mass Start C World Cup 3rd
4 15 March 2014 Sweden Falun, Sweden 7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/F Stage World Cup 3rd
5 2014–15 13 December 2014 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 10 km Individual C World Cup 3rd
6 2015–16 29 November 2015 Finland Ruka, Finland 10 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 3rd
7 2016–17 8 January 2017 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 9 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 3rd
8 12 March 2017 Norway Oslo, Norway 30 km Mass Start C World Cup 3rd
9 2018–19 17 February 2019 Italy Cogne, Italy 10 km Individual C World Cup 1st
10 2021–22 29 December 2021 Switzerland Lenzerheide, Switzerland 10 km Individual C Stage World Cup 1st
11 2022-23 10 December 2022 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 10 km Individual C World Cup 1st
12 1 January 2023 Switzerland Val Müstair, Switzerland 10 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 2nd
13 7 January 2023 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 3rd
14 31 December 2022
– 8 January 2023		 SwitzerlandGermanyItaly Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 2nd
15 29 January 2023 France Les Rousses, France 20 km Mass Start C World Cup 2nd
16 17 March 2023 Sweden Falun, Sweden 10 km Individual C World Cup 1st
17 2023-24 31 December 2023 Italy Toblach, Italy 10 km Individual C Stage World Cup 1st
18 4 January 2024 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 20 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 1st
19 30 December 2023
– 7 January 2024		 ItalySwitzerland Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 3rd
20 20 January 2024 Germany Oberhof, Germany 20 km Mass Start C World Cup 3rd
21 11 February 2024 Canada Canmore, Canada 20 km Mass Start C World Cup 2nd
22 2 March 2024 Finland Lahti, Finland 20 km Individual C World Cup 3rd
23 16 March 2024 Sweden Falun, Sweden 10 km Individual C World Cup 1st

Team podiums

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  • 7 podiums – (7 RL)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates
1 2012–13 20 January 2013 France La Clusaz, France 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Kyllönen / Saarinen / Roponen
2 2013–14 8 December 2013 Norway Lillehammer, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Saarinen / Kyllönen / Lähteenmäki
3 2015–16 6 December 2015 Norway Lillehammer, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Pärmäkoski / Mononen / Kyllönen
4 24 January 2016 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Kyllönen / Pärmäkoski / Roponen
5 2019–20 1 March 2020 Finland Lahti, Finland 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Matintalo / Mononen / Pärmäkoski
6 2020–21 24 January 2021 Finland Lahti, Finland 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Matintalo / Mononen / Pärmäkoski
7 2021–22 13 March 2022 Sweden Falun, Sweden 4 × 5 km Mixed Relay F World Cup 2nd Hyvärinen / I. Niskanen / Pärmäkoski

See also

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References

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  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.
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