Kerttu Niskanen
Niskanen in 2013
Country Finland
Full nameKerttu Elina Niskanen
Born (1988-06-13) 13 June 1988
Oulu, Finland
Ski clubVieremän Koitto
World Cup career
Seasons17 – (2008–present)
Starts282
Podiums19
Wins7
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 place2014 SochiTeam sprint
Silver medal – second place2014 Sochi4 × 5 km relay
Silver medal – second place2022 Beijing10 km classical
Bronze medal – third place2022 Beijing30 km freestyle
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2015 Falun4 × 5 km relay
Bronze medal – third place2017 Lahti4 × 5 km relay
U23 World Championships
Gold medal – first place2010 Hinterzarten10 km classical
Gold medal – first place2011 OtepääIndividual sprint
Bronze medal – third place2009 Praz de Lys-SommandIndividual sprint
Bronze medal – third place2011 Otepää15 km skiathlon
Junior World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2007 Tarvisio4 × 3.33 km relay
Bronze medal – third place2008 Mals4 × 3.33 km relay
Updated on 7 January 2024.

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

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

  • 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 
201425874—SilverSilver
201829—166234—
202233Silver4Bronze—44

World Championships

  • 2 medals – (2 bronze)
 Year   Age   10 km 
 individual 		  15 km 
 skiathlon 		  30 km 
 mass start 		  Sprint   4 × 5 km 
 relay 		  Team 
 sprint 
2011228—————
201324—12795—
2015268447Bronze—
2017286—DNF—Bronze5
20193022—————
202334956—4—

World Cup

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

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
200819NCNC——————
200920674555———DNF—
201021725758———DNF—
201122363040—DNF—19—
2012233227392516———
2013241112211217—5—
20142553rd place, bronze medalist(s)28235—4—
2015261412419DNF———
201627963155——7
2017288837146—11—
20182910942196—11—
201930422179———34—
2020311511431211DNF——
2021322824659DNF———
2022337625—5———
2023343rd place, bronze medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)22—2nd place, silver medalist(s)———
2024357616—3rd place, bronze medalist(s)———

Individual podiums

  • 7 victories – (3 WC, 4 SWC)
  • 19 podiums – (9 WC, 10 SWC)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
12012–1320 March 2013Sweden Stockholm, Sweden1.1 km Sprint CStage World Cup3rd
22013–141 January 2014Switzerland Lenzerheide, Switzerland10 km Mass Start CStage World Cup1st
39 March 2014Norway Oslo, Norway30 km Mass Start CWorld Cup3rd
415 March 2014Sweden Falun, Sweden7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/FStage World Cup3rd
52014–1513 December 2014Switzerland Davos, Switzerland10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
62015–1629 November 2015Finland Ruka, Finland10 km Pursuit CStage World Cup3rd
72016–178 January 2017Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy9 km Pursuit FStage World Cup3rd
812 March 2017Norway Oslo, Norway30 km Mass Start CWorld Cup3rd
92018–1917 February 2019Italy Cogne, Italy10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
102021–2229 December 2021Switzerland Lenzerheide, Switzerland10 km Individual CStage World Cup1st
112022-2310 December 2022Norway Beitostølen, Norway10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
121 January 2023Switzerland Val Müstair, Switzerland10 km Pursuit CStage World Cup2nd
137 January 2023Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy15 km Mass Start CStage World Cup3rd
1431 December 2022
– 8 January 2023		SwitzerlandGermanyItaly Tour de SkiOverall StandingsWorld Cup2nd
1529 January 2023France Les Rousses, France20 km Mass Start CWorld Cup2nd
1617 March 2023Sweden Falun, Sweden10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
172023-2431 December 2023Italy Toblach, Italy10 km Individual CStage World Cup1st
184 January 2024Switzerland Davos, Switzerland20 km Pursuit CStage World Cup1st
1930 December 2023
– 7 January 2024		ItalySwitzerland Tour de SkiOverall StandingsWorld Cup3rd

Team podiums

  • 7 podiums – (7 RL)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates
12012–1320 January 2013France La Clusaz, France4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2ndKyllönen / Saarinen / Roponen
22013–148 December 2013Norway Lillehammer, Norway4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2ndSaarinen / Kyllönen / Lähteenmäki
32015–166 December 2015Norway Lillehammer, Norway4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2ndPärmäkoski / Mononen / Kyllönen
424 January 2016Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup3rdKyllönen / Pärmäkoski / Roponen
52019–201 March 2020Finland Lahti, Finland4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup3rdMatintalo / Mononen / Pärmäkoski
62020–2124 January 2021Finland Lahti, Finland4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup3rdMatintalo / Mononen / Pärmäkoski
72021–2213 March 2022Sweden Falun, Sweden4 × 5 km Mixed Relay FWorld Cup2ndHyvärinen / I. Niskanen / Pärmäkoski

See also

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.
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