Famous Finnish Sportspersons

Mika Häkkinen was 5 when his parents got him a go-kart for racing near their home. He later grew up to be one of the 3 Finnish F-1 drivers to earn a World Championship. Noted for his speed, he earned the nickname The Flying Finn.

Keke Rosberg is a Finnish retired racing driver best known for winning the Formula One World Championship in 1982. Rosberg was the first Finnish champion in the history of the Formula One World Championship. Keke Rosberg has also achieved popularity as the father of the 2016 F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg.

With 21 Grands Prix wins Kimi-Matias Räikkönen, nicknamed ‘The Iceman’, thrived as the most successful Finnish racing driver with regard to Formula One race wins. He was the winner of the 2007 Formula One World Championship competing for Scuderia Ferrari. He took 103 podium finishes and with this became one of the five drivers who have taken more-than 100 podiums.

Teemu Selänne is a Finnish retired ice hockey player who played as a winger. Dubbed the Finnish Flash, Teemu is the highest scoring player from Finland in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL). In 2017, he became only the second Finn after Jari Kurri to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Matti Nykänen was a Finnish ski jumper widely considered to be the greatest male ski jumper of all time. Over the course of his career, he won five Winter Olympic medals and nine World Championship medals. He won the International Masters Championship for veteran ski jumpers in 2008. He had a tumultuous personal life and faced several legal issues.

Finnish basketball player Lauri Markkanen is best known for his present stint with the NBA team Cleveland Cavaliers. The 3-time Finnish Player of the Year has also played for the Chicago Bulls earlier. Known for his near-7-foot frame, he has also been an NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2018.

Finnish F-1 racing driver, who has driven for teams such as Caterham-Renault, Lotus F1, and McLaren. He was the 100th driver to win a F-1 Grand Prix. Though he has competed in the Australian and Brazilian Grand Prix, he scored his only win at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2008.

Teemu Pukki is a Finnish football player who has played for the Finland national team in important tournaments like the UEFA European Football Championship and Baltic Cup. He also plays in prominent leagues like the English Football League and is currently playing for the Norwich City Football Club.

Paavo Nurmi was a Finnish athlete who specialized in long-distance and middle-distance running. Nicknamed the Flying Finn, Nurmi dominated important distance running events in the early 20th century. He won nine gold medals and three silver medals across three Olympics in 1920, 1924, and 1928. Paavo Nurmi also set 22 official world records during his career.

Joonas Suotamo is a Finnish actor and retired basketball player. Although he started his career as a basketball player, Suotamo has gained much popularity for his portrayal of Chewbacca in the famous Star Wars film series. He played the role in movies like The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.

Finnish retired hockey player Jari Kurri is not just a 5-time Stanley Cup winner but also the first from his country to be part of the Hockey Hall of Fame. An Olympic bronze medal winner, he managed the Finnish team post-retirement. He is married to former Miss Finland, Vanessa Forsman.

Henri Toivonen was a Finnish rally driver who became the youngest driver ever to become the World Rally Champion in 1980. The record was later broken by his countryman Jari-Matti Latvala in 2008. Henri Toivonen is also known as the son of Pauli Toivonen, who won the 1968 European Rally Championship title.

Tuuka Rask a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender. He currently plays for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Highly skilled, he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender during the 2013-14 season. He also played for the national team at the 2014 Winter Olympics. His brother, Joonas Rask, is also a professional ice hockey player.

Valtteri Bottas is a Finnish racing driver who competes in popular promotions like Formula One, where he is currently competing for Alfa Romeo. Over the course of his career, Valtteri Bottas has won several prestigious awards like the Sky Sports Award and Lorenzo Bandini Trophy. In 2019, he was named AKK-Motorsport Driver of the Year.

Finnish racing driver Mika Salo was once a prominent member of Formula One. Post-retirement, he has worked for Finnish MTV3 Formula One as a commentator and has also been a host on Test Drive by Mika Salo. He has been featured on Driven to Extremes, too.

Tommi Mäkinen is a Finnish former racing driver. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful World Rally Championship (WRC) drivers of all time; he won four World Rally Championship titles during his career. After retiring as a driver, Tommi Mäkinen established himself as a racing executive.

Lasse Virén is a Finnish retired athlete who specialized in long-distance running. He is best known for his performance in the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games, where he won two gold medals at each Games. Lasse Virén is also known for winning a bronze medal at the 1974 European Championships in Rome.

Popularly known as The Nordic Nightmare, Finnish boxer Robert Helenius was born in Sweden and moved to Finland with his parents at age 2. He was 5 when he began training in boxing and grew up to win a silver at the 2006 European Championships. He has played for both Sweden and Finland,

Ari Vatanen is a rally driver-turned-politician who won the drivers' title at the 1981 World Rally Championship as well as the prestigious Paris Dakar Rally on four occasions. He also won the World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in 1997. Since 2013, Ari Vatanen has been serving as the president of the Autosport Union in Estonia.

Marcus Grönholm is a Finnish retired rally and rallycross driver. With 34 rally wins and two championships under his belt, Marcus Grönholm is considered one of the most successful World Rallycross Championship (WRC) drivers of all time.

Finnish ice hockey goaltender Pekka Rinne has been a silver medalist at the 2014 World Championships. He has been part of the NHL team Nashville Predators and has won the Vezina Trophy, too. A 4-time NHL All-Star, he also won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2021.

Jari-Matti Latvala is a Finnish rally driver. Best known for his aggressive driving style, which often draws comparison to the late Colin McRae, Jari-Matti Latvala is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC) to not have won a championship.

Jouko Ahola is a Finnish retired powerlifter, strongman, and actor. He is best known for winning the 1997 World's Strongest Man competition. He won the competition again in 1999, establishing his supremacy in the powerlifting scene. Since the early 2000s, Jouko Ahola has been focusing on his career as an actor. 

Sami Hyypiä is a Finnish former football player who was an important member of the Finland national team. At the time of his retirement, Hyypiä was Finland's second most capped player after Jari Litmanen with 105 caps. Sami Hyypiä successfully established himself as a manager after retiring as a player.  

Patrik Antonius is a Finnish poker player and former tennis player. A multi-talented personality, Antonius has also worked as a model. As a poker player, Patrik Antonius has been mentored by famous poker players like Jennifer Harman and Marcel Lüske.

Makwan Amirkhani is an Iranian-born Finnish MMA fighter who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has won three Performance of the Night awards so far in the UFC.

Lukáš Hrádecký is a Finnish football player who plays as a goalkeeper for the Finland national team and Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Starting from 2016, Hrádecký was adjudged Finnish Footballer of the Year for three years in a row. In 2020, Lukáš Hrádecký helped his national team qualify for the UEFA European Championship for the first time.

Finnish ski jumper and drag racer Janne Ahonen, known as one of Finland’s most successful sportspeople, is not just a 2-time Olympic silver medalist but also a 5-time World Championship. Known as King Eagle, he later worked as an equipment technician with the Finnish Nordic ski jumping team.

Juha Kankkunen is a Finnish retired rally driver. He is best known for winning four drivers' world championship titles and 23 world rallies during his illustrious career. A successful driver, Juha Kankkunen competed for popular teams like Toyota, Peugeot, Ford, Subaru, and Hyundai.  

Joel Pohjanpalo is a Finnish football player who plays as a striker. An important player for the Finland national football team, Pohjanpalo has also played for popular clubs like Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburger SV. 

Legendary Finnish rally driver Mikko Hirvonen had an illustrious 13-year World Rally career. The Scandinavian racing sensation has scored 15 wins and 69 podium finishes in the World Rally Championship, and been a 4-time runner-up. He is known for his successful stints with co-drivers Jarmo Lehtinen and Miikka Anttila.

Jussi Jääskeläinen is a Finnish former football player who played as a goalkeeper. An important player for Finland, Jääskeläinen earned 56 caps for the national team. In 2001, he helped his team win the Nordic Football Championship title. Jussi Jääskeläinen is currently working as a football coach.

One of Finland’s greatest hockey players of all time, Saku Koivu has been part of the Finnish World Championship-winning team in 1995. He has won 4 Olympic medals, including a silver. He is a cancer survivor and has been part of the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission.

Eva Wahlstrom is a Finnish retired boxer who held the WBC super-featherweight title for nearly five years before losing her title to Terri Harper. She also represented her country at the European Championships where she won silver medals in 2004 and 2005.

Finnish ice hockey forward Kasperi Kapanen is best known for his stint with the NHL team Pittsburgh Penguins. The son of former ice hockey player Sami Kapanen and the grandson of Hockey Hall of Famer Hannu Kapanen, he has won gold medals at the Winter Youth Olympics and the World U20 Championship.

Legendary Finnish track and field athlete Hannes Kolehmainen was one of the Flying Finns and had won 4 Olympic gold medals and a silver. Known for undergoing rigorous training sessions, he also maintained a vegetarian diet. Though a bricklayer by profession, he had a sports-loving family and 2 brothers who were long-distance runners.

Tero Pitkämäki is a Finnish former track and field athlete who specialized in javelin throw. He is best known for winning the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. A former world champion, Pitkämäki was named Finnish Sportsman of the Year in 2007. The same year, he was also named the European Athlete of the Year by the EEA. 

Markku Alen is a Finnish retired rally and race car driver. He had an impressive record in the World Rally Championship, although he never won the championship itself. Markku Alen is credited with coining and popularizing the phrase, now maximum attack.  

Mikael Granlund is a Finnish ice hockey player best known for winning the bronze medal for his country at the 2014 Winter Olympics. He has also been a part of the team that won the gold medal at the 2011 and 2022 World Championships. Mikael Granlund also plays in the NHL and is the current alternate captain of the Predators. 

Leo Komarov is an ice hockey player best known for winning the gold medal for the Finnish national team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. He was also part of the team that won the gold medal at the IIHF World Championship in 2011. Leo Komarov has won several prestigious tournaments like the Karjala Cup and Sweden Hockey Games. 

Mikko Koivu is a Finnish retired ice hockey player who played as a centre. He is best known for leading the Finnish national team at the 2011 World Championship where the team won the gold medal. Mikko Koivu was also part of the team that won a silver medal and a bronze medal at the 2006 and 2010 Olympics, repsectively.

Ville Ritola was a Finnish athlete who specialized in long-distance running. He is best remembered for winning five Olympic gold medals, four of which were won at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. Ville Ritola also won two silver medals at the 1924 Games, a record for the most number of athletics medals won at a single Olympic event.

Mostly known by his ring name, Ludvig Borga, Finnish wrestler, MMA fighter, and boxer Tony Halme had an eventful life. Known for his homophobic and pro-Nazi views, he was also an actor, a musician, a politician, and a writer. He also struggled with mental health issues and short-term memory loss.

Esa Tikkanen is a Finnish retired ice hockey player who played as a forward. He is best known for his association with the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL) with which he won four Stanley Cups. Esa Tikkanen took his overall tally of Stanley Cups to five when he helped New York Rangers win the title in 1994.

Mikael Forssell is a Finnish retired football player who played as a striker. He represented his national team in 87 games between 1999 and 2014. He scored 29 goals for his country, the second highest number of goals by a Finnish player.