Toni Nieminen

Toni Nieminen
Country	Finland
Full name	Toni Markus Nieminen
Born	(1975-05-31) 31 May 1975 Lahti, Finland
Personal best	203 m (666 ft) Planica, 17 Mar 1994
World Cup career
Seasons	1991–1999 2001–2003
Individual wins	9
Team wins	1
Indiv. podiums	12
Team podiums	3
Yellow bibs	14
Indiv. starts	96
Team starts	3
Overall titles	1 (1992)
Four Hills titles	1 (1992)
Medal record Men's ski jumping Olympic Games 1992 Albertville Individual LH 1992 Albertville Team LH 1992 Albertville Individual NH
Updated on 10 Jan 2016.

Toni Markus Nieminen (born 31 May 1975) is a Finnish former ski jumper. He is the youngest ever Winter Olympic gold medalist, at 16 years and 261 days.

Career

Nieminen's biggest success came in his first World Cup season in 1991/92. At the time, the transition from the Daescher technique to the V-style was taking place and Nieminen was one of the first to master the new technique.

Nieminen took his first World Cup victory in Thunder Bay, in December 1991. Then he went on to win the Four Hills Tournament with 3 victories and 1 second place. At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, Nieminen won the large hill and the Team large hill, placing third in the normal hill. In the World Cup, Nieminen took a total of 8 victories securing also the overall title. Additionally, Nieminen won the World Junior Championship in both the Individual and the Team competitions. Nieminen was chosen as the Finnish Sports Personality of the Year 1992.

In the following seasons, Nieminen showed only glimpses of his great talent. In 1994, he became the first ever ski jumper to break the 200 metre barrier at Planica, with a world record of 203 m. Out of his total of 9 individual World Cup victories, only one came after the 1991/92 season, in Kuopio 1995. In World Cup team competitions, Nieminen scored one victory, in Villach 2001.

After retiring from ski jumping in 2004, Nieminen has worked as a sports commentator for Finnish MTV3. He has also competed as a driver in harness racing.

World Cup

Standings

Season	Overall	SF	JP	4H	NT
1990/91	–	–	N/A	–	N/A
1991/92		–	N/A		N/A
1992/93	50	–	N/A	–	N/A
1993/94	52	7	N/A	–	N/A
1994/95	11	31	N/A	8	N/A
1995/96	93	–	–	–	N/A
1996/97	92	–	89	56	–
1997/98	67	–	63	–	28
1998/99	–	–	–	69	–
2000/01	21	37	N/A	15	49
2001/02	31	N/A	N/A	33	–
2002/03	54	N/A	N/A	–	–

Wins

No.	Season	Date	Place	Hill	Size
1	1991/92	1 Dec 1991	Thunder Bay	Big Thunder K-90	NH
2		29 Dec 1991	Oberstdorf	Schattenbergschanze K-115	LH
3		4 Jan 1992	Innsbruck	Bergiselschanze K-109	LH
4		6 Jan 1992	Bischofshofen	Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze K-120	LH
5		29 Feb 1992	Lahti	Salpausselkä K-90	NH
6		1 Mar 1992	Lahti	Salpausselkä K-114	LH
7		11 Mar 1992	Trondheim	Granåsen K-120	LH
8		15 Mar 1992	Oslo	Holmenkollbakken K-110	LH
9	1994/95	1 Feb 1995	Kuopio	Puijo K-90 (night)	NH

References

• Toni Nieminen at the International Ski Federation
• Holmenkollen winners since 1892 - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file (Norwegian)

Records
Preceded by Martin Höllwarth	World's longest ski jump 17 March 1994 – 18 March 1994	Succeeded by Espen Bredesen