Vesa Hakala

Vesa Hakala ( born December 5, 1968 in Harjavalta ) is a former Finnish ski jumper.

Career

Hakala, who was admitted to the Finnish national team in early 1988, jumped on March 6, first time in 1988 in Lahti Ski Jumping World Cup. He finished jumping on the 11th Place. He was therefore also nominated for the following season in the squad and launched on December 30, 1988 in Oberstdorf for the Four Hills Tournament. After a 36th place in Oberstdorf and a 17th place in Garmisch -Partenkirchen, and a 22nd place in Innsbruck, he crashed in the first jump in Bischofshofen and finished only 90th and so last. It was his last competition in the 1988/89 World Cup season.

On December 16, 1989, he jumped on the normal hill in Sapporo, Japan for the first time in the World Cup. The results of the 1989/90 season, however, were rather mediocre and he could only reach two World Cup points throughout the season, and stood at the end ranked 52 overall. The following season 1990/91, however, was more successful. In the second competition of the season he could reach in Sapporo 3rd place his only podium finish of his career on 16 December 1990. At the end of the season Hakala could jump with 9th place in the overall standings of the Four Hills Tournament and a 24th place in the overall World Cup for the first time in front World Cup field.

In the Nordic World Ski Championships 1991 in Val di Fiemme he could reach the 14th place in the competition on the normal hill and won the team competition, together with Ari -Pekka Nikkola, Raimo Ylipulli and Risto Laakkonen the silver medal behind Austria. In the 1991/92 season he was unable to repeat the successes of the previous season and landed mostly in the top 20

Only in the 1992/93 season, the success came on again. So he reached multiple top 10 rankings. In the overall standings of the Four Hills Tournament 1992/93 he was fifth in the World Cup and he stood at the end on the 15th Place. It was thus the most successful season of his career. In the Nordic World Ski Championships 1993 in Falun, Sweden, he reached in jumping on the normal hill on the 12th, on the large hill on the 17th and with the team, together with Janne Ahonen, Risto Jussilainen and Toni Nieminen the 6th Place. In the season 1993/94 he started only in three World Cup competitions, in which he on the large hill in Sapporo once again was able to achieve a top 10 ranking 7th place. In 1995, he jumped two World Cups in his home Lahti and ended after jumping on January 29, 1995 its active Springer career with a 23rd place.