Meet the Niskanens
ProXCskiing.com caught up the unusual Finnish family, where 50 percent of the children have cross-country World Cup victories and Olympic medals on their resumes.
On Wednesday, December 29, 2021, both Kerttu and Iivo Niskanen made history when they won the same World Cup event on the same day in the same place.
“We celebrated with coffee and cake. It was just delicious. But we haven’t had time to respond to the messages yet, congratulations have been enough,” mother Tarja Niskanen said.
Here’s what happened on December 29, 2021
First, Kerttu won the women’s 10-kilometer individual-start classic event in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Then Iivo won the men’s 15-kilometer individual-start classic event just a couple of hours later.
“It made me nervous when I saw Kerttu win,” Iivo said after his victory.
How did this happen?
Iivo Niskanen, 29, was a promising junior, but he had his breakthrough at the World Cup level in 2014.
In the end of January, Iivo won the FIS U23 World Championship and was named to the Finnish Olympic team to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
During the 2014 Winter Games, Iivo was fourth in the 15-kilometer classic event, just 0.2 seconds shy of the bronzemedal. A few days later, Iivo Niskanen and Sami Jauhojärvi won the gold medal in the team sprint.
Following the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Iivo Niskanen faced a couple of harder seasons. But at the 2017 FIS World Championships on home turf in Lahti, Niskanen won the gold medal in the 15-kilometer classic race.
Since then, Niskanen has been a perennial favorite whenever he enters a classic race.
At the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, South Korea, Iivo Niskanen earned his first individual Olympic gold medal, when he won the 50-kilometer classic race on the final day of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang.
Kerttu’s definite breakthrough is still to come?
Just like her younger brother Iivo, Kerttu Niskanen, 33, has always been stronger in classic skiing.
Just like Iivo, Kerttu had her breakthrough at the World Cup-level in 2014. Her first World Cup victory was in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, on January 1, 2014. The next was in Cogne, Italy, in 2019, and the third in Lenzerheide just this week, all in 10-kilometer classic events.
And just like Iivo, Kerttu took home her first Olympic medal in 2014. Kerttu earned the silver medal in the team sprintat the Sochi Olympics. Additionally, she helped Finland to silver in the relay at the same Winter Games.
At the FIS World Championships, Kerttu’s top result is her fourth place in the 30-kilometer classic event at the 2105 World Championships in Falun, Sweden.
During the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld, Kerttu Niskanen got sick, and last season ended prematurely for Kerttu.
Married her coach
For the past two years, Kerttu’s husband Juho Mikkonen has been her main coach. Since Mikkonen took over the task, Kerttu seems to has found a better balance in her training loads and overall life.
Right now, Kerttu Niskanen seems to be back on track and ready to fight for her first individual Olympic gold medal at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
“This (the Tour de Ski victory in the 10-kilometer classic on Wednesday) feels so good after last season’s adversity. And I was really happy when Iivo still managed to win the same day,” Kerttu says to ProXCskiing.com.
Iivo trains more than 1,000 hours a year
Olivo Ohtonen, a former Finnish national team racer who currently works as a sports science researcher, has been responsible for coaching Iivo Niskanen throughout his adult career.
Ohto is considered an accurate and analytical coach. Together with Iivo, they have chosen a line where they dare to tackle the problems immediately and keep the number of competitions low.
Niskanen trains more than 1,000 hours a year. Last season, however, Niskanen felt that the training load was slightly too much, which was reflected in a drop in results. So, for the 2021/22 season, he has returned to the training plan from his best seasons:
“We have returned to a pretty traditional training rhythm. I have increased my volume gradually over years. During the lessons, practice has accumulated in the model of the best years. However, it no longer matters whether there will be 1050 or 1100 hours of training. It is starting to be on the upper limits,” Niskanen said earlier this season.
Plays down his status as “favorite” at the 2022 Olympics
Given his solid track record in classic races, Iivo Niskanen is one of the favorites in the 15-kilometer classic event at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
However, Niskanen plays down his status, and points out that with the challenging conditions expected at the Olympic venue in February, the equipment must also be in place.
“Racing is hard. Winning is always tight when it comes to championships and the World Cup. It goes without saying.Conditions and equipment play can have a huge impact the outcomes. Sometimes, I think it would be best if we could always be skiing in standardized conditions. When the conditions are tough, one should hope for miracles.
Supportive community
The Niskanen family hails from the small municipality of Vieremä, Finland, a community with 3,500 inhabitants. The municipality’s largest employer is Ponsse, one of the world’s largest forest machine manufacturers, which has been a significant financial supporter of the siblings since the beginning of their careers.
Kerttu lives in Vuokatti, Finland’s biggest and most advanced training center for skiing.
Iivo, on the other hand, lives in the city of Kuopio. National team skier Perttu Hyvärinen and Ilkka Herola, one of the top Nordic combined racers, live in the neighborhood, so there are always training partners for Iivo.
Iivo and Kertu have a younger sister Iita and an older sister Katri. Katri is one of Finland’s best-known fashion designers.
At home in Vieremä, the siblings’ double victory was properly celebrated after the races were over.
“This was a not unexpected from Iivo, but Kerttu’s victory was a real surprise. And now we can be happy for both of them,” said mother Tarja Niskanen with pride in her voice to the Finnish Information Office STT.
“We celebrated with coffee and cake. It was just delicious. But we haven’t had time to respond to the messages yet, congratulations have been enough,” mother Tarja Niskanen said.
Niskanen’s father Eero, for his part, commented to the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation that the victory in the 15-kilometer classic event was a game changer for Iivo. That performance earned his son a spot on the Finnish cross-country team to the 2022 Olympics.