Veli Selim Saarinen (16 September 1902 – 12 October 1969) was a Finnish cross-country skier who competed in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics.
 Saarinen in the 1930s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 16 September 1902 Martinsaari, Virolahti, Finland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 12 October 1969 (aged 67) Helsinki, Finland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Cross-country skiing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Kouvolan Hiihtoseura Lahden Hiihtoseura | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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In 1928 he finished fourth in the 18 km event. Four years later he won a gold in the 50 km and a bronze in the 18 km event, becoming the first Finnish cross-country skier to win an Olympic gold medal. Yet his biggest success came at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, where he won six medals between 1926 and 1934, including three gold medals.[1]
Domestically Saarinen won only two titles, over 50 km in 1930–31. In 1934 he retired from competitions and later coached the German (1934–1937) and Finnish (1937–1968) national cross-country skiing teams. In 1947–1968 he also served as a chief executive of the Finnish Skiing Federation.[1]
Cross-country skiing results
editAll results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[2]
Olympic Games
edit- 2 medals – (1 gold, 1 bronze)
| Year | Age | 18 km | 50 km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | 25 | 4 | — |
| 1932 | 29 | Bronze | Gold |
World Championships
edit- 6 medals – (3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
| Year | Age | 17 km | 18 km | 30 km | 50 km | 4 × 10 km relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 23 | — | — | Bronze | 9 | — |
| 1929 | 26 | Gold | — | — | Silver | — |
| 1930 | 27 | 5 | — | — | 6 | — |
| 1933 | 30 | — | 4 | — | Gold | — |
| 1934 | 31 | — | Silver | — | — | Gold |
References
edit- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Veli Saarinen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
- ^ "SAARINEN Veli". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
External links
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