Kerttu Elina Niskanen (born 13 June 1988) is a Finnish cross-country skier. She is a five-time Olympic medalist.
Career At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Oslo, her first senior WCH, Niskanen finished eighth in the 10 km classical event. To date, her best individual World Championship results are 4th places in the skiathlon and 30 km classical in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2015 in Falun.
At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, she won two silver medals as a member of team Finland: in 4 × 5 km relay and in team sprint. She also finished fourth in 30 km freestyle.
Niskanen also has two bronze medals from World Championship 4 x 5 km relays in 2015 and 2017. She has won three World Cup competitions and has been on the podium ten times in total. Her best result in the Tour de Ski is 5th, which she achieved three times in 2014, 2016, and 2022.
She was forced to sit out the 2021 World Championships after a fracture was discovered in her left fibula after a World Cup race in Falun, Sweden, in January 2021. Despite the sudden, sharp pain from the fracture, Niskanen finished the race in 12th place. This was her final race of the season.
During the 2021/22 season, Niskanen took her first win and podium in three years when she won the 10 km classical Stage World Cup race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Following the win, she became the Tour de Ski leader for the first time in her career. Niskanen eventually finished fifth in the tournament.
At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Niskanen won her first individual Olympic medal, a silver in the 10 km classical event, losing the gold medal to Therese Johaug of Norway by only 0.4 seconds. She also placed fourth in the skiathlon, which was already her fourth 4th-place finish in individual Olympic or World Championship competitions. The team events also resulted in fourth place for Niskanen; she skied the 3rd leg in the 4 x 5 km relay and the first, third, and fifth legs of the team sprint. In both events, Finland was a strong medal contender and missed out on medals by only a couple of seconds.
In the last event of the Olympics, the 30 km freestyle held in grueling, windy conditions, Niskanen won her second individual medal, this time a bronze. For most of the race, Niskanen, whose stronger style is often considered classic, skied in fourth place at the front of a chase group. In the final kilometre, however, Niskanen overtook Ebba Andersson of Sweden, who at 25 km had been half a minute ahead of her, seizing the bronze as the fastest of the chasers.
Kerttu Niskanen's younger brother Iivo is also a cross-country skier and three-time Olympic champion. On 29 December 2021, the siblings made history as they won the 10 and 15 km World Cup events in Lenzerheide only hours apart. At the finale of the 2021/22 season, they shared a World Cup podium for the first time, having taken part in the mixed relay event where Finland placed second. Between them, the Niskanen siblings have won nine Olympic and five World Championship medals.
Niskanen placed fifth in 20 kilometre skiathlon at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Cross-country skiing results All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Olympic Games 4 medals – (3 silver, 1 bronze)
Year Age 10 km individual 15/20 km skiathlon 30/50 km mass start Sprint 4 × 5/7.5 km relay Team sprint 2014 25 8 7 4 — Silver Silver 2018 29 — 16 6 23 4 — 2022 33 Silver 4 Bronze — 4 4 2026 37 29 57 — Bronze —
World Championships 2 medals – (2 bronze) Year Age 10 km individual 15/20 km skiathlon 30/50 km mass start Sprint 4 × 5/7.5 km relay Team sprint 2011 22 8 — — — — — 2013 24 — 12 7 9 5 — 2015 26 8 4 4 7 Bronze — 2017 28 6 — — Bronze 5 2019 30 22 — — — — — 2023 34 9 5 6 — 4 —
World Cup 1 title – (1 distance) SeasonDiscipline2023 Distance
Season standings Season Age Discipline standingsSki Tour standingsOverallDistanceSprintNordicOpeningTour deSkiSki Tour2020World CupFinalSki TourCanada 2008 19 — — — 2009 20 67 45 55 — 2010 21 72 57 58 — — 2011 22 36 30 40 — 19 2012 23 32 27 39 25 16 — 2013 24 11 12 21 12 17 5 2014 25 5 28 23 5 4 2015 26 14 12 41 9 2016 27 9 6 31 5 5 7 2017 28 8 8 37 14 6 11 2018 29 10 9 42 19 6 11 2019 30 42 21 79 — — 34 2020 31 15 11 43 12 11 2021 32 28 24 65 9 2022 33 7 6 25 5 2023 34 22 2024 35 5 4 17 2025 36 4 32 4
Individual podiums 8 victories – (4 , 4 ) 28 podiums – (15 , 13 ) No. Season Date Location Race Level Place1 2012–13 20 March 2013 Stockholm, Sweden 1.1 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 3rd2 2013–14 1 January 2014 Lenzerheide, Switzerland 10 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 1st3 9 March 2014 Oslo, Norway 30 km Mass Start C World Cup 3rd4 15 March 2014 Falun, Sweden 7.5 km + 7.5 km Skiathlon C/F Stage World Cup 3rd5 2014–15 13 December 2014 Davos, Switzerland 10 km Individual C World Cup 3rd6 2015–16 29 November 2015 Ruka, Finland 10 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 3rd7 2016–17 8 January 2017 Val di Fiemme, Italy 9 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 3rd8 12 March 2017 Oslo, Norway 30 km Mass Start C World Cup 3rd9 2018–19 17 February 2019 Cogne, Italy 10 km Individual C World Cup 1st10 2021–22 29 December 2021 Lenzerheide, Switzerland 10 km Individual C Stage World Cup 1st11 2022–23 10 December 2022 Beitostølen, Norway 10 km Individual C World Cup 1st12 1 January 2023 Val Müstair, Switzerland 10 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 2nd13 7 January 2023 Val di Fiemme, Italy 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 3rd14 31 December 2022– 8 January 2023 Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 2nd15 29 January 2023 Les Rousses, France 20 km Mass Start C World Cup 2nd16 17 March 2023 Falun, Sweden10 km Individual C World Cup 1st17 2023–24 31 December 2023 Toblach, Italy 10 km Individual C Stage World Cup 1st18 4 January 2024 Davos, Switzerland20 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 1st19 30 December 2023– 7 January 2024 Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 3rd20 20 January 2024 Oberhof, Germany 20 km Mass Start C World Cup 3rd21 11 February 2024 Canmore, Canada 20 km Mass Start C World Cup 2nd22 2 March 2024 Lahti, Finland 20 km Individual C World Cup 3rd23 16 March 2024 Falun, Sweden10 km Individual C World Cup 1st24 2024–25 15 December 2024 Davos, Switzerland 20 km Individual C World Cup 2nd25 29 December 2024 Toblach, Italy 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 2nd26 31 December 2024 20 km Individual F Stage World Cup 3rd27 1 January 2025 15 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 3rd28 2 February 2025 Cogne, Italy 10 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
Team podiums 1 victory – (1 ) 8 podiums – (7 , 1 ) No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates1 2012–13 20 January 2013 La Clusaz, France 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Kyllönen / Saarinen / Roponen2 2013–14 8 December 2013 Lillehammer, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Saarinen / Kyllönen / Lähteenmäki3 2015–16 6 December 2015 Lillehammer, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Pärmäkoski / Mononen / Kyllönen4 24 January 2016 Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Kyllönen / Pärmäkoski / Roponen5 2019–20 1 March 2020 Lahti, Finland 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Matintalo / Mononen / Pärmäkoski6 2020–21 24 January 2021 Lahti, Finland 4 × 5 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Matintalo / Mononen / Pärmäkoski7 2021–22 13 March 2022 Falun, Sweden 4 × 5 km Mixed Relay F World Cup 2nd Hyvärinen / I. Niskanen / Pärmäkoski8 2024–25 31 January 2025 Cogne, Italy 6 × 1.3 km Team Sprint C World Cup 1st Joensuu
See also List of Olympic medalist families
References
External links
Kerttu Niskanen at Milano Cortina 2026