Mika Kristian Myllylä (12 September 1969 – 5 July 2011) was a Finnish cross-country skier who competed from 1992 to 2005. He won six medals at the Winter Olympics, earning one gold (1998: 30 km), one silver (1994: 50 km), and four bronzes (1994: 30 km, 4 × 10 km; 1998: 10 km, 4 × 10 km).
Myllylä also won a total of nine medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, winning four golds (1997: 50 km, 1999: 10 km, 30 km, 50 km), three silvers (10 km + 15 km combined pursuit: 1997, 1999; 4 × 10 km relay: 1997), and two bronzes (10 km: 1995, 1997).
He was on his way to become one of the greatest stars in cross-country skiing history, until he was caught doping in the Finnish 2001 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships scandal for taking hydroxyethyl starch (HES), a blood plasma expander usually used to cover up the use of erythropoietin (EPO) in athletes. The scandal also affected five other Finnish skiers, including Jari Isometsä and Harri Kirvesniemi. Myllylä received a two-year suspension from the FIS as a result. In connection with a 2011 court case, Myllylä gave a sworn statement where he admitted using EPO in the 1990s, during his career.
After the suspension Myllylä tried to return to skiing, but failed to come back to the international level despite winning a few Finnish championships. Myllylä retired from the skiing sports in 2005. In the following years he was involved in alcohol-related problems which were extensively covered in Finnish tabloid papers. On 5 July 2011, Myllylä was found dead at his home in Kokkola. The official police investigation concluded that his death was the result of an accident, and ruled out the possibility of foul play and suicide.
Cross-country skiing results All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Olympic Games 6 medals – (1 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze) Year Age 10 km Pursuit 30 km 50 km 4 × 10 km relay 1992 22 14 20 34 — — 1994 24 6 4 Bronze Silver Bronze 1998 28 Bronze 6 Gold — Bronze
World Championships 9 medals – (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze) Year Age 10 km 15 km Pursuit 30 km 50 km Sprint 4 × 10 km relay 1991 21 39 — — — — 1993 23 17 18 23 DNF 4 1995 25 Bronze 4 4 — — 1997 27 Bronze Silver 10 Gold Silver 1999 29 Gold Silver Gold Gold 5 2001 31 — — —
World Cup Season titles 1 title – (1 Long Distance) SeasonDiscipline1997 Long Distance
Season standings Season Age OverallLong DistanceSprint 1990 20 — colspan="2" 1991 21 — colspan="2" 1992 22 32 colspan="2" 1993 23 34 colspan="2" 1994 24 4 colspan="2" 1995 25 8 colspan="2" 1996 26 14 colspan="2" 1997 27 7 1998 28 7 13 1999 29 8 2000 30 39 29 26 — 2001 31 33 colspan="2" —
a. 29th in the Long Distance World Cup. 26th in the Middle Distance World Cup.
Individual podiums 10 victories 25 podiums No. Season Date Location Race Level Place1 1993–94 9 January 1994 Kavgalovo, Russia 15 km Individual C World Cup 3rd2 15 January 1994 Oslo, Norway 10 km Individual F World Cup 3rd3 14 February 1994 Lillehammer, Norway 30 km Individual F Olympic Games 3rd4 27 February 1994 50 km Individual C Olympic Games 2nd5 12 March 1994 Falun, Sweden 30 km Individual C World Cup 2nd6 1994–95 11 March 1995 Thunder Bay, Canada 10 km Individual C World Championships 3rd7 1995–96 16 December 1995 Santa Caterina, Italy 10 km Individual C World Cup 3rd8 13 January 1996 Nové Město, Czech Republic 15 km Individual C World Cup 3rd9 1996–97 7 December 1996 Davos, Switzerland 10 km Individual CWorld Cup 1st10 4 January 1997 Kavgalovo, Russia 30 km Individual F World Cup 1st11 19 January 1997 Lahti, Finland 30 km Individual C World Cup 2nd12 24 February 1997 Trondheim, Norway 10 km Individual C World Championships 3rd13 25 February 1997 10 km + 15 km Pursuit C/F World Championships 2nd14 2 March 1997 50 km Individual C World Championships 1st15 1997–98 3 January 1998 Kavgalovo, Russia 30 km Individual F World Cup 1st16 8 January 1998 Ramsau, Austria 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd17 1998–99 5 January 1999 Otepää, Estonia 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd18 14 February 1999 Seefeld, Austria 10 km Individual F World Cup 1st19 19 February 1999 Ramsau, Austria 30 km Individual F World Championships 1st20 22 February 1999 10 km Individual C World Championships 1st21 23 February 1999 10 km + 15 km Pursuit C/F World Championships 2nd22 28 February 1999 50 km Individual C World Championships 1st23 13 March 1999 Falun, Sweden 30 km Individual C World Cup 3rd24 1999–2000 2 February 2000 Trondheim, Norway 10 km Individual FWorld Cup 1st25 2000–01 20 December 2000 Davos, Switzerland 30 km Individual CWorld Cup 1st
Team podiums 6 victories – (6 ) 15 podiums – (14 , 1 ) No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammate(s)1 1991–92 28 February 1992 Lahti, Finland 4 × 10 km Relay F World Cup 3rd Hartonen / Räsänen / Isometsä2 1993–94 22 February 1994 Lillehammer, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C/F Olympic Games 3rd Kirvesniemi / Räsänen / Isometsä3 1994–95 18 December 1994 Sappada, Italy 4 × 10 km Relay F World Cup 2nd Repo / Hartonen / Isometsä4 15 January 1995 Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Hietamäki / Isometsä / Kirvesniemi5 5 February 1995 Falun, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay F World Cup 2nd Räsänen / Hartonen / Isometsä61995–96 10 December 1995 Davos, Switzerland 4 × 10 km Relay CWorld Cup 1st Hietamäki / Repo / Isometsä7 14 January 1996 Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Repo / Kirvesniemi / Isometsä8 3 February 1996 Seefeld, Austria 12 × 1.5 km Team Sprint F World Cup 3rd Isometsä91996–97 24 November 1996 Kiruna, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay CWorld Cup 1st Repo / Kirvesniemi / Isometsä10 8 December 1996 Davos, Switzerland 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Isometsä / Repo / Kirvesniemi11 28 February 1997 Trondheim, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Championships 2nd Kirvesniemi / Räsänen / Isometsä121997–98 6 March 1998 Lahti, Finland 4 × 10 km Relay C/FWorld Cup 1st Kirvesniemi / Repo / Isometsä13 1998–99 14 March 1999 Falun, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Immonen / Kirvesniemi / Repo14 1999–00 19 December 1999 Davos, Switzerland 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 2nd Immonen / Kirvesniemi / Isometsä15 2000–01 26 November 2000 Beitostølen, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Immonen / Kirvesniemi / Repo
Note: Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.
Overall record
ResultDistance RacesSprintIndividualEventsTeam EventsAll Events≤ 10 km≤ 15 km≤ 30 km≥ 30 kmPursuitTeam SprintRelay1st place 4 – 4 2 – – 10 – – 102nd place – 2 2 1 2 – 7 – 1 83rd place 3 3 2 – – – 8 – 2 10Podiums 7 5 8 3 2 – 25 – 3 28 Top 10 12 11 16 4 4 – 47 – 3 50 Points 23 23 23 6 6 – 81 – 4 85 Others 1 4 4 1 – – 10 – – 10 Starts 24 27 27 7 6 – 91 – 4 95
a. Classification is made according to FIS classification. b. Includes individual and mass start races. c. Incomplete due to lack of appropriate sources prior to 2001.
Note: Until 1999 World Championships and 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races are part of the World Cup. Hence results from those races are included in the World Cup overall record.
See also List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences
References
Sources
Myllylä, Mika: Riisuttu mestari. Tammi. 2001.
External links