Matti Heikkinen (born 19 December 1983 in Kajaani) is a Finnish former cross-country skier and World Champion who competed from 2002 to 2019.
| Matti Heikkinen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Heikkinen during the 2009–10 Tour de Ski | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Finland | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 December 1983 Kajaani, Finland | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ski club | Vantaan Hiihtoseura | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 17 – (2003–2019) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Starts | 203 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 0 – (5th in 2017) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on 2 April 2019. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career edit
Heikkinen won his first World Championship at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Holmenkollen 2011. Winning 15 km, he is the first Finnish men's World Champion for over a decade. He also won two bronze medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, earning them in the 15 km and 4 × 10 km relay events.
In December 2009, Heikkinen took his first World Cup victory on the 15 km freestyle event in Davos.[1]
Heikkinen finished fifth in the 4 × 10 km relay at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.
He announced his retirement from cross-country skiing in March 2019.[2]
Heikkinen lives in Jyväskylä and studies at the University of Jyväskylä School of Business.
Cross-country skiing results edit
All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[3]
Olympic Games edit
| Year | Age | 15 km individual |
30 km skiathlon |
50 km mass start |
Sprint | 4 × 10 km relay |
Team sprint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 26 | 39 | DNF | — | — | 5 | — |
| 2014 | 30 | 20 | 39 | 15 | — | 6 | — |
| 2018 | 34 | 10 | 21 | 25 | — | 4 | — |
World Championships edit
- 4 medals – (1 gold, 3 bronze)
| Year | Age | 15 km individual |
30 km skiathlon |
50 km mass start |
Sprint | 4 × 10 km relay |
Team sprint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 25 | Bronze | 11 | 37 | — | Bronze | — |
| 2011 | 27 | Gold | 18 | — | — | 4 | — |
| 2013 | 29 | 12 | 17 | 25 | — | 5 | — |
| 2015 | 31 | 21 | 16 | 20 | — | 8 | — |
| 2017 | 33 | 11 | 18 | Bronze | — | 5 | — |
| 2019 | 35 | — | 12 | 11 | — | 4 | — |
World Cup edit
Season standings edit
| Season | Age | Discipline standings | Ski Tour standings | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Distance | Sprint | Nordic Opening |
Tour de Ski |
World Cup Final |
Ski Tour Canada | ||
| 2003 | 19 | NC | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004 | 20 | NC | NC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005 | 21 | 156 | 98 | NC | — | — | — | — |
| 2006 | 22 | NC | NC | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | 23 | 169 | 113 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2008 | 24 | 65 | 44 | 71 | — | — | 14 | — |
| 2009 | 25 | 30 | 19 | 102 | — | 26 | 19 | — |
| 2010 | 26 | 13 | 9 | 72 | — | 12 | 24 | — |
| 2011 | 27 | 25 | 18 | 54 | DNF | DNF | 21 | — |
| 2012 | 28 | 44 | 28 | NC | — | 24 | DNF | — |
| 2013 | 29 | 39 | 27 | NC | 18 | DNF | 18 | — |
| 2014 | 30 | 28 | 18 | NC | 17 | DNF | 9 | — |
| 2015 | 31 | 20 | 15 | NC | 7 | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 32 | 17 | 17 | NC | — | 18 | — | 6 |
| 2017 | 33 | 5 |  |
NC | |
5 | 24 | — |
| 2018 | 34 | 35 | 24 | NC | 14 | — | DNF | — |
| 2019 | 35 | 119 | 82 | NC | DNF | DNF | 48 | — |
Individual podiums edit
- 4 victories – (1 WC, 3 SWC)
- 15 podiums – (5 WC, 10 SWC)
| No. | Season | Date | Location | Race | Level | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2009–10 | 21 November 2009 |  Beitostølen, Norway |
15 km Individual F | World Cup | 3rd |
| 2 | 12 December 2009 |  Davos, Switzerland |
15 km Individual F | World Cup | 1st | |
| 3 | 2 January 2010 |  Oberhof, Germany |
15 km Pursuit C | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
| 4 | 2010–11 | 3 January 2010 | Oberstdorf, Germany |
10 km + 10 km Pursuit C/F | Stage World Cup | 1st |
| 5 | 2014–15 | 25 January 2015 |  Rybinsk, Russia |
15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/F | World Cup | 3rd |
| 6 | 2015–16 | 25 January 2015 |  Val di Fiemme, Italy |
9 km Pursuit F | Stage World Cup | 3rd |
| 7 | 9 March 2016 |  Canmore, Canada |
15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/F | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
| 8 | 11 March 2016 | Canmore, Canada |
15 km Individual F | Stage World Cup | 1st | |
| 9 | 12 March 2016 | Canmore, Canada |
15 km Pursuit C | Stage World Cup | 2nd | |
| 10 | 2016–17 | 4 December 2016 | Lillehammer, Norway |
15 km Pursuit C | Stage World Cup | 1st |
| 11 | 2–4 December 2016 | Nordic Opening |
Overall Standings | World Cup | 2nd | |
| 12 | 10 December 2016 | Davos, Switzerland |
30 km Individual F | World Cup | 3rd | |
| 13 | 7 January 2017 | Val di Fiemme, Italy |
15 km Mass Start C | Stage World Cup | 3rd | |
| 14 | 8 January 2017 | Val di Fiemme, Italy |
9 km Pursuit F | Stage World Cup | 2nd | |
| 15 | 2017–18 | 26 November 2017 | Rukatunturi, Finland |
15 km Pursuit F | Stage World Cup | 2nd |
References edit
- ^ "Finland's Matti Heikkinen wins 15K cross-country skiing World Cup race". The Associated Press. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Landén, Petter (3 March 2019). "Finske stjärnan i tårar – avslutar sin karriär" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ "Athlete : HEIKKINEN Matti". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
