Veli Saarinen

Veli Saarinen
Saarinen in the 1930s
Personal information
Born(1902-09-16)16 September 1902
Martinsaari, Virolahti, Finland
Died12 October 1969(1969-10-12) (aged 67)
Helsinki, Finland
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Sport
SportCross-country skiing
ClubKouvolan Hiihtoseura
Lahden Hiihtoseura
Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
1932 Lake Placid 50 km
1932 Lake Placid 18 km
World Championships}
1929 Zakopane 17 km
1933 Innsbruck 50 km
1934 Sollefteå 4 × 10 km relay
1929 Zakopane 50 km
1934 Sollefteå 18 km
1926 Lahti 30 km

Veli Selim Saarinen (16 September 1902 – 12 October 1969) was a Finnish cross-country skier who competed in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics.

In 1928, he finished fourth in the 18 km event. In 1932, 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. From 1947 to 1968, he also served as a chief executive of the Finnish Skiing Federation.[1]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[2]

Olympic Games

  • 2 medals – (1 gold, 1 bronze)
 Year   Age   18 km   50 km 
1928 25 4 —
1932 29 Bronze Gold

World Championships

  • 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

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "SAARINEN Veli". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
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