Tapio Kantanen

Tapio Kantanen ( born May 31, 1949 in Heinola ) is a former Finnish athlete.

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, he won the 3,000-meter steeplechase behind the Kenyans Kipchoge Keino and Ben Jipcho the bronze medal.

Four years later, at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, he was about the same distance in fourth and just missed out on a medal.

At the World Cross Country Championships 1973 in Waregem (Belgium ), he missed a medal by five seconds, and was the almost twelve -kilometer distance in fourth. His countryman Pekka Päivärinta won the race.