Matias Strandvall
Matias Strandvall ( born March 15, 1985 in Helsinki) is a Finnish cross-country skiers.
Sporting career
In January 2004 Strandvall launched for the first time in the Continental Cup. However, in Valkeakoski he finished only 95th place 10-kilometer freestyle. His first try at the Cross Country World Cup, he had the following season 2004/ 05 in Kuusamo. Over a distance of 15 kilometers classic but he finished 98th and thus last place in the field of participants. In Lahti, he failed in 49th in the qualification of the Spintwettbewerbs. At the Junior World Championship 2005 in Rovaniemi, he reached the final round and won the fifth place. Strandvalls best result at the U23 World Cup 2006 in Kranj was the 26th place about 15 km classic. His first World Cup points, he secured the World Cup in Changchun, where he reached the quarter-finals in the sprint competition and finished 18th place. A surprise success he achieved at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo 2007, when he reached the semi-finals in the sprint competition and could fight for the ninth place. In the U23 World Championships, he qualified again for the final and secured the bronze medal in the sprint competition. At the end of the season he ersprintete his first top ten result in the World Cup. In Stockholm he won the B-final and thus came in seventh place. These results he also confirmed in the 2007/ 08 season when he could reach the quarter-finals on a regular basis. In Canadian Canmore (Alberta), he secured third place for the first time a place on the podium of a World Cup competition. In the U23 World Cup in times he but been eliminated in the semi-final and finished at the end of the ninth. At the end of its previously best season he finished 39th in the overall World Cup and twelfth overall in the Spintwettbewerbe. After moderate results in the 2008 /09 season Strandvall qualified for the quarter-finals at the Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, finishing in 24th place. At the beginning of the season 2009/10 he made back in the good results in 2007 and finished in Davos fourth place finish in the sprint competition.