Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi

Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi (née Hämäläinen; born 10 September 1955) is a Finnish former cross-country skier.

Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi
Country	Finland
Born	Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen (1955-09-10) 10 September 1955 Simpele, South Karelia, Finland
Spouse(s)	Harri Kirvesniemi ​ ​ (m. 1984; div. 2011)​
Ski club	Simpeleen Urheilijat
World Cup career
Seasons	10 – (1982–1985, 1988–1989, 1991–1994)
Indiv. starts	64
Indiv. podiums	27
Indiv. wins	11
Team starts	15
Team podiums	8
Team wins	1
Overall titles	2 – (1983, 1984)
Medal record Women's cross-country skiing Representing Finland Olympic Games 1984 Sarajevo 5 km 1984 Sarajevo 10 km 1984 Sarajevo 20 km 1984 Sarajevo 4 × 5 km relay 1988 Calgary 4 × 5 km relay 1994 Lillehammer 5 km classical 1994 Lillehammer 30 km classical World Championships 1978 Lahti 4 × 5 km relay 1989 Lahti 10 km classical 1989 Lahti 4 × 5 km relay 1985 Seefeld 5 km 1985 Seefeld 10 km 1989 Lahti 15 km classical 1991 Val di Fiemme 5 km classical 1993 Falun 15 km classical

Career

She was the big figure at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, winning all three individual cross-country skiing events (5, 10 and 20 km), and a bronze medal for Finland in the relay. In the process, she became the most successful athlete at the 1984 Winter Olympics. At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, she won another relay bronze medal, and at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, she won two more bronze medals in the 5 and 30 km.

At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, Kirvesniemi won three golds in the 10 km (1989) and 4 × 5 km relay (1978, 1989), and five silvers in the 5 km (1985, 1991), 10 km (1985) and 15 km (1989, 1993). She also won the 20 km double pursuit at the 1989 Holmenkollen ski festival.

Kirvesniemi won the Holmenkollen medal in 1989. Her husband, Harri, would be awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1998. They were the third husband-and-wife pair that won this prestigious honor. They are the only married couple to have both competed at six Olympics, and are among the only eight Finns to have done so - the others being Janne Ahonen (ski jumping), Raimo Helminen (ice hockey), Teemu Selänne (ice hockey), Kyra Kyrklund (dressage), Juha Hirvi (shooting), and Hannu Manninen (nordic combined).

Cross-country skiing results

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

Olympic Games

• 7 medals – (3 gold, 4 bronze)

Year	Age	5 km	10 km	15 km	Pursuit	20 km	30 km	4 × 5 km   relay
1976	20	—	22	—	—	—	—	—
1980	24	19	18	—	—	—	—	5
1984	28	Gold	Gold	—	—	Gold	—	Bronze
1988	32	5	9	—	—	11	—	Bronze
1992	36	31	—	6	DNS	—	—	4
1994	38	Bronze	—	—	13	—	Bronze	4

World Championships

• 8 medals – (3 gold, 5 silver)

Year	Age	5 km	10 km   classical	10 km   freestyle	15 km	Pursuit	20 km	30 km	4 × 5 km   relay
1978	22	—	23	—	—	—	16	—	Gold
1982	26	17	11	—	—	—	17	—	4
1985	29	Silver	Silver	—	—	—	12	—	4
1989	33	—	Gold	—	Silver	—	—	8	Gold
1991	35	Silver	—	—	12	—	—	—	4
1993	37	14	—	—	Silver	—	—	—	4

World Cup

Season titles

• 2 titles – (2 overall)

Season
	Discipline
1983	Overall
1984	Overall

Season standings

Season	Age	Overall
1982	26	18
1983	27
1984	28
1985	29	10
1988	32
1989	33	6
1991	35	17
1992	36	10
1993	37	8
1994	38	10

Individual podiums

• 11 victories
• 27 podiums

No.	Season	Date	Location	Race	Level	Place
1	1982–83	12 December 1982	Val di Sole, Italy	5 km Individual	World Cup	2nd
2		25 February 1983	Falun, Sweden	10 km Individual	World Cup	2nd
3		5 March 1983	Lahti, Finland	5 km Individual	World Cup	1st
4		12 March 1983	Oslo, Norway	20 km Individual	World Cup	2nd
5		20 March 1983	Anchorage, United States	10 km Individual	World Cup	1st
6		27 March 1983	Labrador City, Canada	10 km Individual	World Cup	1st
7	1983–84	17 December 1983	Autrans, France	10 km Individual	World Cup	1st
8		9 February 1984	Sarajevo, Yugoslavia	10 km Individual	Olympic Games[1]	1st
9		12 February 1984		5 km Individual	Olympic Games[1]	1st
10		18 February 1984		20 km Individual	Olympic Games[1]	1st
11		25 February 1984	Falun, Sweden	10 km Individual	World Cup	3rd
12		8 March 1984	Oslo, Norway	20 km Individual	World Cup	2nd
13	1984–85	19 February 1985	Seefeld, Austria	10 km Individual	World Championships[1]	2nd
14		21 February 1985		5 km Individual	World Championships[1]	2nd
15	1987–88	19 December 1987	Reit im Winkl, West Germany	5 km Individual F	World Cup	1st
16		17 March 1988	Oslo, Norway	30 km Individual C	World Cup	2nd
17	1988–89	17 February 1989	Lahti, Finland	10 km Individual C	World Championships[1]	1st
18		21 February 1989		15 km Individual C	World Championships[1]	2nd
19		4 March 1989	Oslo, Norway	20 km Individual C	World Cup	1st
20	1990–91	12 February 1991	Val di Fiemme, Italy	5 km Individual C	World Championships[1]	2nd
21	1991–92	4 January 1992	Kavgolovo, Russia	15 km Individual C	World Cup	3rd
22		7 March 1992	Funäsdalen, Sweden	5 km Individual C	World Cup	1st
23	1992–93	9 January 1993	Ulrichen, Switzerland	10 km Individual C	World Cup	2nd
24		19 February 1993	Falun, Sweden	15 km Individual C	World Championships[1]	2nd
25	1993–94	8 January 1994	Kavgolovo, Russia	10 km Individual C	World Cup	2nd
26		15 February 1994	Lillehammer, Norway	5 km Individual C	Olympic Games[1]	3rd
27		24 February 1994		30 km Individual C	Olympic Games[1]	3rd

Team podiums

• 1 victory
• 8 podiums

No.	Season	Date	Location	Race	Level	Place	Teammates
1	1983–84	15 February 1984	Sarajevo, Yugoslavia	4 × 5 km Relay	Olympic Games[1]	3rd	Määttä / Hyytiäinen / Matikainen
2		26 February 1984	Falun, Sweden	4 × 5 km Relay	World Cup	2nd	Hyytiäinen / Määttä / Savolainen
3	1984–85	10 March 1985	Falun, Sweden	4 × 5 km Relay	World Cup	3rd	Määttä / Hyytiäinen / Matikainen
4	1987–88	21 February 1988	Calgary, Canada	4 × 5 km Relay F	Olympic Games[1]	3rd	Määttä / Matikainen / Savolainen
5		13 March 1988	Falun, Sweden	4 × 5 km Relay C	World Cup	2nd	Matikainen / Hyytiäinen / Määttä
6	1988–89	23 February 1989	Lahti, Finland	4 × 5 km Relay C/F	World Championships[1]	1st	Määttä / Savolainen / Matikainen
7	1990–91	10 March 1991	Falun, Sweden	4 × 5 km Relay C	World Cup	3rd	Lukkarinen / Lahtinen / Savolainen
8	1991–92	8 March 1992	Funäsdalen, Sweden	4 × 5 km Relay C	World Cup	3rd	Riikola / Lukkarinen / Savolainen
9	1993–94	4 March 1994	Lahti, Finland	4 × 5 km Relay C	World Cup	3rd	Lukkarinen / Pyykkönen / Lahtinen

Note: ¹ Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

See also

• List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games

References

• Holmenkollen medalists - click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file (in Norwegian)
• Holmenkollen winners since 1892 - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file (in Norwegian)

External links

• Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi Haemaelaeinen at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
• Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi Haemaelaeinen at Olympics.com
• Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen-Kirvesniemi at Olympedia
• Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi at Olympiakomitea.fi (in Finnish)