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
Personal information
Born (1983-12-19) 19 December 1983 (age 42)
Kajaani, Finland
Sport
Country Finland
SportSkiing
ClubVantaan Hiihtoseura
World Cup career
Seasons17 – (20032019)
Indiv. starts203
Indiv. podiums15
Indiv. wins4
Team starts16
Team podiums0
Overall titles0 – (5th in 2017)
Discipline titles0
Updated on 2 April 2019

Career

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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

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

Olympic Games

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 Year   Age   15 km 
 individual 
 30 km 
 skiathlon 
 50 km 
 mass start 
 Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
20102639DNF5
2014302039156
2018341021254

World Championships

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  • 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 
200925Bronze1137Bronze
201127Gold184
2013291217255
2015312116208
2017331118Bronze5
20193512114

World Cup

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Season standings

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 Season   Age  Discipline standings Ski Tour standings
Overall Distance Sprint Nordic
Opening
Tour de
Ski
World Cup
Final
Ski Tour
Canada
200319NCN/aN/aN/aN/aN/a
200420NCNCN/aN/aN/aN/a
20052115698NCN/aN/aN/aN/a
200622NCNCN/aN/aN/aN/a
200723169113N/aN/aN/a
200824654471N/a14N/a
2009253019102N/a2619N/a
20102613972N/a1224N/a
201127251854DNFDNF21N/a
2012284428NC24DNFN/a
2013293927NC18DNF18N/a
2014302818NC17DNF9N/a
2015312015NC7N/aN/a
2016321717NC18N/a6
20173353rd place, bronze medalist(s)NC3rd place, bronze medalist(s)524N/a
2018343524NC14DNFN/a
20193511982NCDNFDNF48N/a

Individual podiums

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  • 4 victories – (1 WC, 3 SWC)
  • 15 podiums – (5 WC, 10 SWC)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
12009–1021 November 2009Norway Beitostølen, Norway15 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
212 December 2009Switzerland Davos, Switzerland15 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
32 January 2010Germany Oberhof, Germany15 km Pursuit CStage World Cup3rd
42010–113 January 2010Germany Oberstdorf, Germany10 km + 10 km Pursuit C/FStage World Cup1st
52014–1525 January 2015Russia Rybinsk, Russia15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/FWorld Cup3rd
62015–1625 January 2015Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy9 km Pursuit FStage World Cup3rd
79 March 2016Canada Canmore, Canada15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/FStage World Cup3rd
811 March 2016Canada Canmore, Canada15 km Individual FStage World Cup1st
912 March 2016Canada Canmore, Canada15 km Pursuit CStage World Cup2nd
102016–174 December 2016Norway Lillehammer, Norway15 km Pursuit CStage World Cup1st
112–4 December 2016Norway Nordic OpeningOverall StandingsWorld Cup2nd
1210 December 2016Switzerland Davos, Switzerland30 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
137 January 2017Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy15 km Mass Start CStage World Cup3rd
148 January 2017Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy9 km Pursuit FStage World Cup2nd
152017–1826 November 2017Finland Rukatunturi, Finland15 km Pursuit FStage World Cup2nd

References

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  1. "Finland's Matti Heikkinen wins 15K cross-country skiing World Cup race". The Associated Press. 12 December 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  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.
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