Matti Heikkinen

Matti Heikkinen
Heikkinen during the 2009–10 Tour de Ski
Country Finland
Born (1983-12-19) 19 December 1983 (age 40)
Kajaani, Finland
Ski clubVantaan Hiihtoseura
World Cup career
Seasons17 – (20032019)
Indiv. starts203
Indiv. podiums15
Indiv. wins4
Team starts16
Team podiums0
Overall titles0 – (5th in 2017)
Discipline titles0
Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Representing  Finland
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Oslo 15 km classical
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Liberec 15 km classical
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Liberec 4 × 10 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Lahti 50 km freestyle
Updated on 2 April 2019.

Matti Heikkinen (born 19 December 1983 in Kajaani) is a Finnish former cross-country skier and World Champion who competed from 2002 to 2019.

Career

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

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[3]

Olympic Games

 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

  • 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

Season standings

 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 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) NC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 24
2018 34 35 24 NC 14 DNF
2019 35 119 82 NC DNF DNF 48

Individual podiums

  • 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 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 15 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
2 12 December 2009 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 15 km Individual F World Cup 1st
3 2 January 2010 Germany Oberhof, Germany 15 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 3rd
4 2010–11 3 January 2010 Germany Oberstdorf, Germany 10 km + 10 km Pursuit C/F Stage World Cup 1st
5 2014–15 25 January 2015 Russia Rybinsk, Russia 15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 3rd
6 2015–16 25 January 2015 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 9 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 3rd
7 9 March 2016 Canada Canmore, Canada 15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/F Stage World Cup 3rd
8 11 March 2016 Canada Canmore, Canada 15 km Individual F Stage World Cup 1st
9 12 March 2016 Canada Canmore, Canada 15 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 2nd
10 2016–17 4 December 2016 Norway Lillehammer, Norway 15 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 1st
11 2–4 December 2016 Norway Nordic Opening Overall Standings World Cup 2nd
12 10 December 2016 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 30 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
13 7 January 2017 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 3rd
14 8 January 2017 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 9 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 2nd
15 2017–18 26 November 2017 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 15 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 2nd

References

  1. ^ "Finland's Matti Heikkinen wins 15K cross-country skiing World Cup race". The Associated Press. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2009. [dead link]
  2. ^ Landén, Petter (3 March 2019). "Finske stjärnan i tårar – avslutar sin karriär" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Athlete : HEIKKINEN Matti". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 30 January 2018.