Iivo Niskanen

Iivo Henrik Niskanen (born 12 January 1992) is a Finnish cross-country skier who has competed in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup since 2011. He is a two-time Olympic champion.

Iivo Niskanen
Iivo Niskanen in February, 2019
Country Finland
Full nameIivo Henrik Niskanen
Born (1992-01-12) 12 January 1992
Oulu, Finland
Height1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Ski clubPuijon Hiihtoseura
World Cup career
Seasons2011–
Individual wins5
Team wins0
Indiv. podiums14
Team podiums2
Indiv. starts97
Team starts7
Overall titles0 – (6th in 2020)
Discipline titles0
Updated on 29 February 2020.

Career

Iivo Niskanen made his individual World Cup debut on 12 March 2011, when he became 69th in a 20 km skiathlon in Lahti, Finland. He had his breakthrough at international level when he won the 15 kilometre classic race at the 2014 under-23 World Championships in Val di Fiemme on 30 January 2014. He won the race with a 17.4 seconds margin to Sergey Ustiugov.[1] Only three days after he won the gold medal at the under-23 World Championships, he became 8th in a 15 km classic World Cup race in Toblach, Italy.

He won the gold medal in men's team sprint at the 2014 Winter Olympics with Sami Jauhojärvi.[2] Following the pair's achievement, Niskanen and Jauhojärvi shared the Finnish Sports Personality of the Year award in 2014. Niskanen finished 4th on the prestigious 50 km race in Holmenkollen on 8 March 2014.

In the following 2014–15 season, Niskanen won his first World Cup victory on 30 November 2014 by winning a 15 km classic race on home soil in Ruka, Finland.

At the 2017 World Championships in Lahti Niskanen won a bronze medal in the team sprint together with team mate Jauhojärvi. Niskanen led the race into its final stages, but a crash with Norway's Emil Iversen saw Russia and Italy surpass them. On 1 March, he became World champion on the 15 km classic event, winning the gold medal 17.9 seconds ahead of Martin Johnsrud Sundby.[3] He won his second Finnish Sports Personality of the Year in 2017.

In the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Niskanen became individual Olympic champion on the men's 50 kilometre classical.[4][5] In January 2019, Niskanen was awarded his third Finnish Sports Personality of the Year for the year 2018,[6] the first since Marjo Matikainen in 1987 to win the award two consecutive years; the first male since Kaarlo Kangasniemi in 1969.

At the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld in Tirol, Austria, Niskanen won a bronze medal in the 15 km classic event. This turned out to be his only medal at the championships as he finished fourth in both the skiathlon and the relay.

Iivo Niskanen started the 2019–20 season with his third 15 km classic World Cup win in Ruka and a third place in the overall 2019 Nordic Opening.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[7]

Olympic Games
  • 2 medals – (2 gold)
 Year   Age   15 km 
individual		  30 km 
 skiathlon 		  50 km 
mass start		  Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 		  Team 
 sprint 
20142242510—6Gold
201826—19Gold144—

World Championships
  • 3 medals – (1 gold, 2 bronze)
 Year   Age   15 km 
individual		  30 km 
 skiathlon 		  50 km 
mass start		  Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 		  Team 
 sprint 
201523—26——8—
201725Gold———5Bronze
201927Bronze4——47

Season standings
 Season   Age  Discipline standings Ski Tour standings
Overall Distance Sprint Nordic
Opening		 Tour de
Ski		 Ski Tour
2020		 World Cup
Final		 Ski Tour
Canada
201119NCNCNC——N/A—N/A
201220NC—NC——N/A—N/A
201321NCNCNC40DNFN/A—N/A
201422503190——N/ADNFN/A
201523402578—DNFN/AN/AN/A
20162466437327DNFN/AN/A—
2017251444210DNFN/ADNFN/A
2018261513246DNFN/ADNFN/A
2019272013927—N/A—N/A
202028631108N/AN/A
2021292322845—N/AN/A

Individual podiums
  • 5 victories – (4 WC, 1 SWC)
  • 14 podiums – (10 WC, 4 SWC)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
12014–1530 November 2014 Rukatunturi, Finland15 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
22016–1727 November 2016 Rukatunturi, Finland15 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
319 February 2017 Otepää, Estonia 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
411 March 2017 Holmenkollen, Norway50 km Mass Start CWorld Cup2nd
52017–1825 November 2017 Rukatunturi, Finland15 km Individual CStage World Cup3rd
64 March 2018 Lahti, Finland15 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
72018–1920 January 2019 Otepää, Estonia15 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
817 February 2019 Cogne, Italy15 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
92019–2030 November 2019 Rukatunturi, Finland15 km Individual CStage World Cup1st
1029 November
– 1 December 2019		 Rukatunturi, FinlandOverall StandingsWorld Cup3rd
111 January 2020 Toblach, Italy15 km Pursuit CStage World Cup3rd
1218 January 2020 Nové Město, Czech Republic15 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
1323 February 2020 Trondheim, Norway30 km Pursuit CStage World Cup2nd
1429 February 2020 Lahti, Finland15 km Individual CWorld Cup1st

Team podiums
  • 2 podiums – (1 RL, 1 TS)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammate(s)
12018–1910 February 2019 Lahti, Finland6 × 1.6 km Team Sprint CWorld Cup3rdHakola
3 2020–21 24 January 2021 Lahti, Finland4 × 7.5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2ndHyvärinen / Hakola / Mäki

Awards

Personal life

His sister Kerttu is also cross-country skier, double silver medalist from the 2014 Winter Olympics, and his other sister Katri is a highly regarded Finnish fashion designer.

References
  1. "Niskanen takes world U23 gold ahead of Sochi". www.yle.fi. Yle. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  2. "CROSS COUNTRY PAIR JAUHOJÄRVI AND NISKANEN REDISCOVER GOLDEN FORMULA FOR FINLAND TO WIN MEN'S TEAM SPRINT". www.olympic.org. The International Olympic Committee. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  3. "Iivo Niskanen wins men's 15K cross-country ski world title". cbc.ca. CBC. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  4. "Olympics: Cross-country skiing – Finn Niskanen takes gold in 50km mass start". Reuters. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  5. "Athlete Profile – Iivo NISKANEN". pyeongchang2018.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  6. "Olympic cross-country ski medallist scoops Sports Personality of the Year". www.yle.fi. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  7. "Iivo Niskanen". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
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