Valtter Virtanen

Valtter Virtanen (born 4 June 1987) is a Finnish figure skater. He is a four-time Nordic medalist (gold in 2022, silver in 2016 and 2018, bronze in 2014) and an eight-time Finnish national champion (2013, 2015–2018, 2022–2023). He has competed at a total of seventeen ISU Championships, reaching the final segment on six occasions, at five European and one World Junior Championships. His best ISU Championship placement, fourteenth, came at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo.

Personal life Virtanen was born on 4 June 1987 in Kerava, Finland. After completing his studies in late 2015, he became a medical doctor at a hospital in Oberstdorf, Germany. He works part-time in the emergency room of the Hospital of Peurunka and is team doctor of Finnish hockey team, JYP Jyväskylä. As a result, Virtanen was selected as a host pick to compete at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki. Making his senior Grand Prix debut at the event, Virtanen finished the event in eleventh place. He would also go on to place eleventh at the 2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy. Following Ballester's death, Virtanen posted on his Instagram, expressing that he hoped he could continue making Ballester proud. Shortly afterward, Virtanen won the silver medal at the 2019 Finnish Championships behind Roman Galay. As a result, Virtanen was selected as the host nation's men's singles representative at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo. At the event, Virtanen finished in ninth place. Days later, he would place fourth at the 2022 Santa Claus Cup. However the partnership would come to an end in September 2023 due to Alteryd's difficulties with adapting to the new training environment in Finland. As a result, Virtanen returned to singles skating. His short program to the song "Saturn" by Sleeping at Last was dedicated to his mother, who had recently died.

2024–25 season Virtanen started the season by competing at the 2024 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge and the 2024 Volvo Open Cup, where he finished tenth and ninth, respectively. Selected to compete at the Finnish Grand Prix event, the 2024 Finlandia Trophy, Virtanen came in eleventh place.