Eero Mäntyranta biography

 Eero Mäntyranta biography

Eero Mäntyranta, in full Eero Antero Mäntyranta, (born November 20, 1937, Pello, Finland—died December 30, 2013, Oulu), Finnish Nordic skier who took half in 4 Olympic Games, profitable a complete of seven medals. One of the oustanding Nordic skiers of the Sixties, he additionally received two 30-km world championships (1962 and 1966).

To assist himself in his coaching, Mäntyranta labored as a border patrol officer in his native nation. He started his Olympic profession on the 1960 Games in Squaw Valley, California, U.S., profitable a gold medal for his half within the 4 × 10-km relay however putting a disappointing sixth within the 15-km occasion. At the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, he established himself within the particular person occasions with two formidable performances, taking the gold within the 15-km and 30-km races. Again collaborating within the 4 × 10-km relay, he received the silver medal along with his group, this time because the anchor. In the 1968 Games in Grenoble, France, Mäntyranta took the silver medal within the 15-km race, lower than two seconds behind his good friend and rival, the Norwegian skier Harald Grönningen, and within the 30-km race he received the bronze. As the anchor within the 4 × 10-km relay, he edged out the Soviet group to win his seventh Olympic medal, the bronze.

Mäntyranta additionally participated within the 1972 Olympic Games at Sapporo, Japan, however he didn't place. After Sapporo, he retired from cross-country snowboarding, his Olympic report distinguishing him as one of many excellent Nordic skiers in a rustic that has a protracted historical past of success within the sport.