Jay Hakkinen

Jay William Hakkinen (born July 19, 1977) is a former biathlete. He is a four-time American Olympian, and his 10th-place finish in the 20-kilometer individual race at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy was the best finish ever by an American biathlete.

Hakkinen retired from the sport at the end of the 2013–14 season.

Background At the age of three, Hakkinen learned how to skate. Soon after, he picked up cross-country skiing, where he won the Junior 5 km freestyle. He got involved in biathlon when in 1994, he went for a year to a Norwegian town in a student exchange program. His host parents were able to arrange for him to trade with a local biathlon club. Within three years of returning home to Alaska, he was the Junior World Champion of biathlon. He vowed to medal in his next event, but instead missed all five targets and fell quickly out of contention. Hakkinen was the lead biathlete for the United States in the relay, and was in first place when he handed off to his teammate; ultimately, however, the United States finished in 9th in the relay.

Biathlon results All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay 1998 Nagano 42nd 60th 17th 2002 Salt Lake City 26th 26th 13th 15th 2006 Turin 10th 78th — 13th 9th 2010 Vancouver 76th 54th 57th — 13th Pursuit was added as an event in 2002, with mass start being added in 2006.

World Championships EventIndividualSprintPursuit TeamRelay 1997 Brezno-Osrblie 37th — — 14th 20th 1998 Pokljuka 39th 10th 1999 Kontiolahti 48th 16th 24th 18th 18th 2000 Oslo Holmenkollen 31st 32nd 30th — 16th 2001 Pokljuka 39th 31st 41st — — 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk — 47th 51st — 17th 2004 Oberhof 70th 47th LAP — 18th 2005 Hochfilzen 69th 18th 23rd — — DNS 2006 Pokljuka 18th 2007 Antholz-Anterselva 31st 38th 18th 9th 9th — 2008 Östersund — 89th — — 15th — 2009 Pyeongchang DNF — — — — — 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 80th 42nd 35th — 6th 13th 2012 Ruhpolding 31st 91st — — 10th — During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program. Team was removed as an event in 1998, and mass start was added in 1999 with the mixed relay being added in 2005.