Marjo Matikainen-Kallström

Marjo Tuulevi Matikainen-Kallström (born 3 February 1965) is a Finnish former politician and cross-country skier.

Politics

Matikainen-Kallström has represented the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus) in Finland. From 1996 to 2004 she was a Member of the European Parliament, and from 2004 to 2015 a member of the Finnish Parliament.

Athletics

She had a very short but winning sporting career. In the six seasons she competed at a top international level, she won the World Cup three years in a row. At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Matikainen-Kallström won a bronze medal in the relay aged just 19.

Four years later in Calgary she won bronze on the 10 km race, and in the 5 km sprint won gold after being in second place all race until the last kilometre before coming through to win, 1.3 seconds ahead of Tamara Tikhonova, who had to settle for silver. That same year she won another bronze medal in the relay.

At the 1987 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, she won the 5 km and silver in the 10 km. Matikainen-Kallström finished her championship career with a fantastic 1989 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships on her home soil in Lahti, where she won the following medals:

Matikainen-Kallström also was the first winner of the women's 30 km event at the Holmenkollen ski festival in 1988.

Scholastics She quit competition after these championships at the age of 24 to concentrate on her studies at the Helsinki University of Technology and on politics.

Cross-country skiing results All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games 4 medals – (1 gold, 3 bronze) Year Age 5 km 10 km 20 km 4 × 5 km relay 1984 19 22 — — Bronze 1988 23 Gold Bronze 12 Bronze

World Championships 7 medals – (3 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze) Year Age 5 km 10 km classical 10 km freestyle 15 km 20 km 30 km 4 × 5 km relay 1985 19 11 — — 4 1987 22 Gold Silver 4 6 1989 24 BronzeSilver GoldBronzeGold

World Cup Season titles 3 titles – (3 overall)

Season standings Season Age Overall 1984 19 1985 20 36 1986 21 1 1987 22 1 1988 23 1 1989 24 11

Individual podiums 8 victories 17 podiums

Team podiums

1 victory 8 podiums

Note: Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.