Mikko Ronkainen
Mikko Ronkainen ( born November 25, 1978 in Muurame ) is a former Finnish freestyle skis. He was dedicated to the moguls and dual moguls mogul disciplines. Both 2001 and 2003, he was Moguls champion, added a silver medal at the Winter Olympics in 2006. In World Cup, he decided in the 2000 /01 season, the overall and the moguls discipline rating for themselves.
Biography
Ronkainen took part in the European Cup from January 1996. His debut in the Freestyle World Cup he had on February 4, 1996 # 50 in Kirchberg in Tirol. The first World Cup points, he won ten days later than the 25th of the Moguls Competition in La Clusaz. On December 6, followed in 1997 in Tignes the first top- 10 ranking. Until Ronkainen definitely established itself in the world rankings, it took another year. The first World Cup podium finish he achieved on 21 February 1999, when he second in the dual moguls competition was in Madarao ( Myoko ). The first World Cup victory was on 27 November 1999 in Tandådalen.
His most successful World Cup season had Ronkainen in winter 2000 /01. He won in Deer Valley and Iizuna Kogen. So he decided both the moguls discipline rating and the value calculated from the average values of overall World Cup itself. At the 2001 World Championships in Whistler, he won the moguls gold medal, while he just missed another medal in dual moguls competition in fourth place.
At the beginning of the 2001/02 season Ronkainen could not quite match the performance of the previous winter first. At the 2002 Winter Olympics he finished in 8th place. He returned the favor in March 2002 with two World Cup wins in Inawashiro and before a home crowd in Ruka. Ronkainen able to win another Mogul Competition in the World Cup season 2002/ 03 in Sauze d' Oulx. In Deer Valley, he succeeded, on the occasion of the 2003 World Cup to defend his world title Moguls.
In winter 2003/ 04 Ronkainen scored three times a World Cup podium, but without winning. Three more podiums followed in the winter of 2004 / 05, including a victory in Voss. Ronkainen first started unconvincing in the 2005/ 06 season, but at the Winter Olympic Games in 2006 he achieved a significant increase and he won the silver medal. End of the season he won in Inawashiro; this was equivalent to his last World Cup victory.
At the end of the season 2006/ 07, which had ended with a second place as Bestergebnis, Ronkainen announced his resignation. After he had taken part in the Finnish Championships in 2008, he returned in late 2009 back to the World Cup and qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics, where he finished in 14th place. His last World Cup race, he played on 13 March 2010 in Åre.
Achievements
Olympic games
- Salt Lake City 2002: 8 Moguls
- Turin 2006: 2 Moguls
- Vancouver 2010: 14 Moguls
World Championships
- Hasliberg 1999: 15 Moguls, Dual Moguls 17
- Whistler 2001: 1st Moguls, Dual Moguls 4
- Deer Valley 2003: 1 Moguls, Dual Moguls 9
- Ruka 2005: 4 Dual Moguls, Moguls 9
- Madonna di Campiglio, 2007: 36 Moguls
World Cup
- Season 1998/99: 7 Dual Mogul World Cup, 8 Moguls World Cup
- Season 1999/ 00: 9 Moguls World Cup
- Season 2000/ 01: first overall World Cup, 1st Mogul World Cup
- Season 2001/ 02: 5 Moguls World Cup
- Season 2002/ 03: 5 Moguls World Cup
- Season 2004/ 05: 9 Overall World Cup 4 Moguls World Cup
- 16 podiums, including 8 victories (all Moguls ):
Other successes
- 3 podiums in the European Cup, including 2 victories