Iivo
Niskanen
Finland
·
Cross-Country Skiing
Date of birth | January 12, 1992 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Oulu, Finland |
Age | 34 |
Nationality | Finland |
Career start | 2013 |
Disciplines | Cross Country Skiing |
Born in Oulu, Finland, Niskanen has always been a busy, energetic athletic individual. In the summers he could generally be found chasing a football around, but it was in the winters when he found his true calling.
"For me, skiing has always been my main focus," he says. At school he was given the opportunity to develop his talent at cross-country skiing, and soon started to become a respected athlete on the national circuit."I always want to do things properly," comments Niskanen, "so to make skiing my number one priority was an easy choice."
You'll find a haul of international youth medals in his trophy room, including gold from the 15km classic at the U23 World Championships in 2014. Later that year he broke into the international limelight with the gold medal he brought back from the team sprint event at the Sochi Games, alongside team-mate Sami Jauhojärvi.
Maintaining his amazing run in big competitions, Niskanen claimed gold in the 15km classical at the World Championships in 2017 and one year later dominated the 50km race at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
2022 brought yet more success as Niskanen excelled at the Games in Beijing, winning bronze in the 30km skiathlon, silver in the team sprint and gold in the 15km classical.