Anssi Koivuranta
Encyclopedia
Anssi Koivuranta is a ski jumper, formerly nordic combined
skier from Finland
. Known for winning the 2008–09 FIS Nordic Combined World Cup. He has won the gold medal in the 4 × 5 km team event and a bronze medal in the 15 km Gundersen race at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
in Sapporo.
Koivuranta made his international debut in the B World Cup in March 2003. He competed in the World Cup for the first time in Kuusamo 2003, but was disqualified from both races because his skis were too long compared to his length and weight (BMI
rule). In February 2004 he won a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in Stryn
. In March 2004, at the very end of the 2003–04 season, Koivuranta made his proper debut in the World Cup circuit—in two races in Lahti, he finished 24th and 23rd respectively.
. His first podium achievement came in January 2005, with a third place in Sapporo. Almost one month later, he finished sixth in the sprint distance at the 2005 World Championships. Before the season was over, he would win a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in Rovaniemi
.
in Turin
. In December 2006 he achieved two second places in a row, and followed with consistent achievements among the top fifteen. At the 2007 World Championships
in Sapporo he won the gold medal in the 4 x 5 km team event, a bronze medal in the 15 km Gundersen race and finished fourth in the sprint. At his last Junior World Championships, held in Tarvisio
in March 2007, he won a gold and a silver medal. The same level of performance continued in the 2007–08 season, placing him twice on the podium.
part. Concentrating on improving his cross-country skiing abilities, from 2005 he managed to improve little by little. He owed his increased share of podium achievements to this training. By 2008–09, Koivuranta had become one of the better cross-country skiers as well, in part thanks to a newly appointed coach to the Finnish national team. Koivuranta won his first World Cup race in November 2008 in Kuusamo. He followed up with victories in Trondheim and Oberhof
in December, and Schonach
and Chaux Neuve in January. The World Championships in Liberec
2009, was not successful for Koivuranta as he did not win any medals at all, and his best results were two fourth places . Koivuranta was also sick during the World Championships which affected his results and that he was unable to compete in the team competition.
On 14 March Koivuranta won the Gundersen
event at Vickersund, the penultimate race of the season. The following day he finished 8th in the 2nd Gundersen of the weekend. This was high enough for him to clinch the 2008–09 FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, his first world cup title, finishing 100 points above the man in second place, Magnus Moan
.
It was in the second training round that he jumped 214,5 and was in second place. It is worth mentioning that the best jumper jumped with lower speed.
, Koivuranta finished seventh in the 4 x 5 km team and eighth in the 10 km individual normal hill. He competed in the 10 km individual large hill event, but withdrew prior to the start of the cross-country section of that event, following a poor result in the ski jumping section. Koivuranta, together with a few others, jumped in very bad wind conditions.
In 2009 Koivuranta won the Finnish ski jumping championship, ahead of the national team ski jumpers. In March 2009 he jumped 214.5 meters in Planica
ski flying hill.
In 2010 Koivuranta suffered Mycoplasma
pneumonia. The disease prevented him to do any physical endurance practice which forced him to fully concentrate on ski jumping. He got the right to compete in the Ski jumping World Cup by placing 15th and 3rd in the Summer Continental Cup competitions in October. The main goal for Koivuranta for the season 2010/11 is to get himself to the Finnish ski jumping team. Pekka Niemelä, the head coach of the national team, told that Koivuranta is very close to the national team level.
April 5, 2011 he said that he will continue with ski jumping instead of nordic combined.
Nordic combined
The Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in both cross-country skiing and ski jumping.- History :While Norwegian soldiers are known to have been competing in Nordic skiing since the 19th century, the first major competition in Nordic combined was held in 1892 in Oslo at the...
skier from Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Known for winning the 2008–09 FIS Nordic Combined World Cup. He has won the gold medal in the 4 × 5 km team event and a bronze medal in the 15 km Gundersen race at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 took place February 22 - March 4, 2007 in Sapporo, Japan. This was the second time this city has hosted these championships, doing so previously at the 1972 Winter Olympics, having been voted at the 43rd FIS World Congress in Portorož, Slovenia on June 6,...
in Sapporo.
Early life and career
Born in Kuusamo, Koivuranta represents the sports club Kuusamon Erä Veikot from Kuusamo. He began ski jumping when he was six years old, breaking his arm in a jump during his first year. He took up Nordic combined when he was eight. Koivuranta eventually grew to be tall; his weight is 55 kilograms (121.3 lb).Koivuranta made his international debut in the B World Cup in March 2003. He competed in the World Cup for the first time in Kuusamo 2003, but was disqualified from both races because his skis were too long compared to his length and weight (BMI
Body mass index
The body mass index , or Quetelet index, is a heuristic proxy for human body fat based on an individual's weight and height. BMI does not actually measure the percentage of body fat. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing...
rule). In February 2004 he won a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in Stryn
Stryn
Stryn is a municipality in the county of Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn which had a population of 2,177 in 2009. The municipality is located along the innermost part of the...
. In March 2004, at the very end of the 2003–04 season, Koivuranta made his proper debut in the World Cup circuit—in two races in Lahti, he finished 24th and 23rd respectively.
World Cup breakthrough
In December the same year, in the early 2004–05 season, he finished among the top ten for the first time, with an eighth place in the sprint race in TrondheimGranåsen
Granåsen is a ski jumping hill, located in Granåsen skicenter in Trondheim, Norway. The hill frequently hosts World Cup and Continental Cup competitions arranged by FIS. The hill sports one K-90 hill and one K-124 hill....
. His first podium achievement came in January 2005, with a third place in Sapporo. Almost one month later, he finished sixth in the sprint distance at the 2005 World Championships. Before the season was over, he would win a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...
.
2005-08
The 2005–06 season saw Koivuranta open with a second place, in Kuusamo in November. During the course of the season he achieved another second place as well as two third places. He also earned a bronze medal in the 4 x 5 team event at the 2006 Winter Olympics2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
. In December 2006 he achieved two second places in a row, and followed with consistent achievements among the top fifteen. At the 2007 World Championships
2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 took place February 22 - March 4, 2007 in Sapporo, Japan. This was the second time this city has hosted these championships, doing so previously at the 1972 Winter Olympics, having been voted at the 43rd FIS World Congress in Portorož, Slovenia on June 6,...
in Sapporo he won the gold medal in the 4 x 5 km team event, a bronze medal in the 15 km Gundersen race and finished fourth in the sprint. At his last Junior World Championships, held in Tarvisio
Tarvisio
Tarvisio is a town in the Province of Udine, in the northeastern part of the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region in Italy...
in March 2007, he won a gold and a silver medal. The same level of performance continued in the 2007–08 season, placing him twice on the podium.
World Cup winner 2008-09
Having been among the better ski jumpers in the Nordic combined sport since 2004, Koivuranta struggled somewhat in the cross-country skiingCross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
part. Concentrating on improving his cross-country skiing abilities, from 2005 he managed to improve little by little. He owed his increased share of podium achievements to this training. By 2008–09, Koivuranta had become one of the better cross-country skiers as well, in part thanks to a newly appointed coach to the Finnish national team. Koivuranta won his first World Cup race in November 2008 in Kuusamo. He followed up with victories in Trondheim and Oberhof
Oberhof
Oberhof may refer to:*Oberhof, Austria*Oberhof, Germany, a village and resort in Thuringia.*Oberhof, Switzerland, a village in the canton of Aargau*Oberhof bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track, located in Oberhof, Germany...
in December, and Schonach
Schonach
Schonach may refer to:* A place in mid Schwarzwald, see Schonach im Schwarzwald* A part of Creglingen...
and Chaux Neuve in January. The World Championships in Liberec
Liberec
Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic....
2009, was not successful for Koivuranta as he did not win any medals at all, and his best results were two fourth places . Koivuranta was also sick during the World Championships which affected his results and that he was unable to compete in the team competition.
On 14 March Koivuranta won the Gundersen
Gundersen
Gundersen may refer to:* Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, a tertiary healthcare facility in La Crosse, Wisconsin* The Gundersen method, a method of competition in Nordic combined devised by Gunder Gundersen...
event at Vickersund, the penultimate race of the season. The following day he finished 8th in the 2nd Gundersen of the weekend. This was high enough for him to clinch the 2008–09 FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, his first world cup title, finishing 100 points above the man in second place, Magnus Moan
Magnus Moan
Magnus Hovdal Moan born 26 August 1983 in Lillehammer, Norway; is a Norwegian nordic combined skier who has competed since 2002. Magnus moved from Lillehammer when he was two years old and has lived in Trondheim ever since. He skis with the Byåsen IL club. When he is not training or competing Moan...
.
World Cup victories
| Date | Location | Race | K-spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 November 2008 | Kuusamo Kuusamo Kuusamo is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Oulu province and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .... |
Gundersen | 120 |
| 7 December 2008 | Trondheim Granåsen Granåsen is a ski jumping hill, located in Granåsen skicenter in Trondheim, Norway. The hill frequently hosts World Cup and Continental Cup competitions arranged by FIS. The hill sports one K-90 hill and one K-124 hill.... |
Gundersen | 123 |
| 28 December 2008 | Oberhof Oberhof Oberhof may refer to:*Oberhof, Austria*Oberhof, Germany, a village and resort in Thuringia.*Oberhof, Switzerland, a village in the canton of Aargau*Oberhof bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track, located in Oberhof, Germany... |
Gundersen | 120 |
| 4 January 2009 | Schonach Schonach Schonach may refer to:* A place in mid Schwarzwald, see Schonach im Schwarzwald* A part of Creglingen... |
Gundersen | 90 |
| 1 February 2009 | Chaux Neuve | Gundersen | 90 |
| 14 February 2009 | Klingenthal Klingenthal Klingenthal is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlovy Vary.The Aschberg towers above the... |
Gundersen | 120 |
| 14 March 2009 | Vikersund Vikersund Vikersund is a town of 2,448 inhabitants in the municipality capital of Modum, in the county of Buskerud, Norway.Vikersund is located 30 kilometers south of Hønefoss and 40 kilometers northwest of Drammen. The village is located at the southwestern arm of Tyrifjorden. The Drammen river enters... |
Gundersen | 105 |
Planica 2009
Koivuranta's personal best ski jump is 214,5 metres as trial jumper in Planica.It was in the second training round that he jumped 214,5 and was in second place. It is worth mentioning that the best jumper jumped with lower speed.
2009-10
Koivuranta's best placement for the 2009-10 season is a 2nd place. This season has been a disappointment for Anssi who had been struggling with a cold. for most of it, and is now barely in the top 10. In January 2010 he had a problem with a tooth injury. At the 2010 Winter Olympics2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, Koivuranta finished seventh in the 4 x 5 km team and eighth in the 10 km individual normal hill. He competed in the 10 km individual large hill event, but withdrew prior to the start of the cross-country section of that event, following a poor result in the ski jumping section. Koivuranta, together with a few others, jumped in very bad wind conditions.
Ski jumping career
Ski jumping is the better discipline for Koivuranta in the combined.In 2009 Koivuranta won the Finnish ski jumping championship, ahead of the national team ski jumpers. In March 2009 he jumped 214.5 meters in Planica
Planica
Planica is an alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking destination in Triglav National Park.Planica is famous for...
ski flying hill.
In 2010 Koivuranta suffered Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma refers to a genus of bacteria that lack a cell wall. Without a cell wall, they are unaffected by many common antibiotics such as penicillin or other beta-lactam antibiotics that target cell wall synthesis. They can be parasitic or saprotrophic. Several species are pathogenic in humans,...
pneumonia. The disease prevented him to do any physical endurance practice which forced him to fully concentrate on ski jumping. He got the right to compete in the Ski jumping World Cup by placing 15th and 3rd in the Summer Continental Cup competitions in October. The main goal for Koivuranta for the season 2010/11 is to get himself to the Finnish ski jumping team. Pekka Niemelä, the head coach of the national team, told that Koivuranta is very close to the national team level.
April 5, 2011 he said that he will continue with ski jumping instead of nordic combined.
Hill Records
- Kanzlersgrund, the K-120 hill in Oberhof, with 147 metres.
- Vikersund K-105 which is 122,5 metres is also held by Koivuranta.
- Non-official record in LiberecJested ski jumping hillsJeštěd A is a ski jumping hill, located in Liberec, Czech Republic. FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 was held there. The K-spot is located at 120 metres. The hill size is 134 m....
K90 with 106,5 metres. - At 148,5 metres he has also jumped the furthest in the Vogtlandarena in Klingenthal, but he fell just after landing as the pressure on his legs was too high.