Kaisa Mäkäräinen

Kaisa Leena Mäkäräinen ( born January 11, 1983 in Ristijärvi ) is a Finnish biathlete.

Career

The student Kaisa Mäkäräinen began in 2003 with the sport of biathlon, after she had been active in cross country before. Since 2004 she is part of the Finnish national team. It starts for Kontiolahden Urheilijat ( Kontiolahti Sports Club ) and is coached by Tomi Kuutti. She first appeared in the Biathlon World Cup in 2005 had Mäkäräinen in a relay race in Ostersund. In the last race before the 2007 World Championships in Pokljuka she died in a mass start race in seventh for the first time in the top ten.

2005 Mäkäräinen launched for the first time at Biathlon World Championships in Hochfilzen. For the Biathlon World Championships 2007 in Antholz she was able to qualify again. She was eighth in singles and seventh in the mass start. The World Championships in the summer biathlon 2007 Otepaeae finished the Finn as a double world champion in sprint and pursuit on roller skis. In the Biathlon World Championships 2009 in Pyeongchang she succumbed in the pursuit of Russian Olga Saizewa the final sprint and finished fourth. At the end of the season they won the sprint title at the Finnish Championships. Kaisa Mäkäräinen participated in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in part, reaching number 45 in the pursuit of her best result.

For the World Cup season 2010/11 Mäkäräinen was trained by the Austrian Josef Obererlacher. It was already evident at the individual in Östersund with the best running time of all participants in good running shape. In addition, following Sprint remained in shooting without a miss and won her first World Cup race before also faultless Gössner Miriam, who was indeed on the track a little faster but slower at the shooting range. In the ensuing persecution she succeeded again after flawless shooting the second victory again before Gössner. My greatest success so far succeeded Kaisa Mäkäräinen at the 2011 World Championships in Khanty- Mansiysk, Russia. After a second place in the sprint behind Magdalena Neuner she succeeded in the subsequent prosecution by an error-free shooting of winning the gold medal. Mäkäräinen is the first Finnish Biathlon World Champion in history. At the end of the season competitions at Holmenkollen she ran for the twentieth time during the season in the top ten and secured thanks to their consistency as the first Finnish Biathlon World Cup. In 2011 she was also elected Athlete of the Year in Finland.

After a coaching change Mäkäräinen could not build on the successes of the previous year in the World Cup season 2011/12. Although they showed to the beginning of the season back in phenomenal running form, they could not keep up over the winter mainly because often only moderate shooting performance with the dominant women like Magdalena Neuner and Darya Domratschawa. Nevertheless, they reached the World Cup several podium finishes, inter alia its profit in the single in Nove Mesto na Moravě. Before the home crowd in Kontiolahti, just a few kilometers away from their home in Joensuu, the Finn secured at almost -20 ° C after a second place in the sprint to the first place in the persecution. After disappointing three events at the Biathlon World Championships 2012 in Ruhpolding, where they only once reached the top 20, it secured in the last race, the Mass Start over 12.5 km, the bronze medal behind Tora Berger and Marie -Laure Brunet. In the overall World Cup she won the end of season behind Neuner, Domratschawa and Berger Rank 4 in the Individual and Sprint Cup they reached each of the top third They also won with the Swede Carl Johan Bergman World Team Challenge at the Arena auf Schalke in Gelsenkirchen.

In preparation for the World Cup season 2012/13 it is supported by Juha Hirvi as a shooting coach. The Finn is a six-time Olympian and won at the Olympic Summer Games in Sydney in 2000, the silver medal in the small-bore three position.

At the Olympic Winter Games 2014 in Sochi, Russia took part in all four individual events and reached there two top - 10 finishes (9th place in singles and 7th place in the mass start ). During the subsequent World Cup in Pokljuka she won the persecution and achieved with two penalties, the second place in the mass start. With their results it secured for the time being the yellow and red jersey. In domestic Kontiolahti she reached her first " hat trick " by won the two sprint races and the Pursuit clearly for itself. In the final World Cup in Oslo, she secured by their results the victory of the sprint and pursuit of the World Cup and won for the second time in her career, the World Cup with four points ahead of Tora Berger.

Personal

Kaisa Mäkäräinen is engaged and lives in Joensuu, only a few kilometers from Kontiolahti. It starts for the Kontiolahden Urheilijat and uses, among other things biathlon facilities in Kontiolahti to prepare for the competitions. When she finds time between training and competitions, she has studied at the University of Joensuu in mathematics and physics to become a teacher. In the past she has worked as a sports reporter for the local newspaper Karjalainen.

Biathlon World Cup rankings

The table shows all placements (depending on the year, including hosting the Olympic Games and World Championships ).