Krista Lähteenmäki
Krista Lähteenmäki ( born December 12, 1990 in Ikaalinen ) is a Finnish cross-country skier.
Career
The first successes as a junior
Your first international competition contested Krista Lähteenmäki 2007 from the European Youth Olympic Festival in Jaca. There, she missed a medal in fourth classic just over 5 kilometers. About 7.5 km freestyle she was 13 in 2008, she participated in the Junior World Championships in Mals. Her best result was eighth place there over 10 km Freestyle ( mass start ). With the Finnish season, she won the bronze medal. Your first mission in the Cross Country World Cup had Lähteenmäki to kick off the 2008/09 season in the domestic Kuusamo. There, she qualified for the quarter-finals in the sprint competition and won as 29 at her first World Cup points start. At the Junior World Championship 2009 in Courchevel, she won the bronze medal in the pursuit competition. About 5 km freestyle, she finished fourth. With the Finnish season they finished fifth in the sprint and they finished sixth. End of the season they scored in the sprint in Lahti with 26th place their best result of the season in the World Cup. At the beginning of the 2009/10 season Lähteenmäki started in Scandinavian Cup. Your best results they achieved in Åsarna where she could take second place about 10 km classic and the third 10-kilometer freestyle. The Junior World Championship 2010 in Hinterzarten she started to fifth place in the sprint competition. About 5 km classic was Junior World Champion. With the Finnish season, she won the silver medal behind the Norwegian team.
Rise in the World Cup
At the World Cup in Otepaeae It reached number 18 10-kilometer classic her best World Cup result so far. These good results secured her place in the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010. About 10 km freestyle she was 52 and about 30 km classic ( mass start ), she was 25, the breakthrough to the world class then succeeded Lähteenmäki at the beginning of the 2010/11 season, when they could occupy the twelfth place overall at the Nordic Opening. At the World Cup in Davos, she managed to place eight 10-kilometer classic her first top ten result in the World Cup. At the Tour de Ski 2010/2011, it celebrated as second in the sprint in Oberhof their first podium finish in a World Cup competition. After Lähteenmäki was too high hemoglobin levels occupied in January for a five-day protective barrier of the FIS, it a few days later received a special permit that allows her a higher hemoglobin level, and could thus participate in the U23 Championship in Estonian Otepaeae. There, she won with a minute's lead the gold medal over 10 km freestyle.
Rise in the world's top
Your final ascent to the peak reached Lähteenmäki world with its launch at the Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Oslo. After a 16th place in the sprint and the 31 place in the double tracking over 15 km, it won together with Aino Kaisa Saarinen - in the team sprint behind the Swedish duo Ida Ingemars yolk / Charlotte Kalla the silver medal. Also in the season it was successful with the team and won bronze. After the World Cup but they could not build on the achievements and missed scoring points in the World Cup in all races. In the Finnish Championships 2011 in Kuopio they missed in the sprint as the Fifth medals scarce. Even in individual over 30 km free style they could win a medal in fourth. In the following FIS races in April and the beginning of the season 2011/12 they reached invariably finishes among the top ten. As the World Cup opener in Sjusjøen they could run as third on the podium after a 11th place in the individual with the team in the relay again.
In January 2012 Lähteenmäki surprised with a second place in the qualification for the World Cup race in Dobbiaco, but could this performance does not hold in the final and was at the end of the 13th Tour de Ski 2011/2012, she finished for good individual performances in fourth place. Again they missed by an important item out on the podium. In the Finnish championships in cross-country skiing in Keuruu 2012, she won her first national title over 3.3 km in the classical style and bronze in the 10 km pursuit in free style. In the next two World Cups in Moscow and Rybinsk she stayed again just behind the podiums. But she succeeded again to reach as a team Second podium in the relay in Nové Město na Moravě. At the end of the season will take place on the Finnish Championships in the sprint, she won bronze. For individual competition over 30 km, it did not occur to.
As a result Lähteenmäki again had to fight with their performance. So she reached in the Tour de Ski 2012/2013, although as in the previous fourth. In the other World Cups but remained from greater success. In the Nordic World Ski Championships 2013 in Val di Fiemme, she won silver in the team sprint after first time in 2011 the bronze medal. Since they are not counted in the individual disciplines of the strongest, they did not get a place in the relay. After she was able to keep up in the other World Cup hardly the world's best, she ended the season by winning the bronze medal at the Finnish Championships 2013 Kontiolahti over 30 km in classic style.