Mika Myllylä

Medal record

Mika Myllylä
Men's cross country skiing
Olympic Games
Gold 1998 Nagano 30 km
Silver 1994 Lillehammer 50 km
Bronze 1994 Lillehammer 30 km
Bronze 1994 Lillehammer 4 × 10 km
Bronze 1998 Nagano 10 km
Bronze 1998 Nagano 4 × 10 km
World Championships
Gold 1997 Trondheim 50 km
Gold 1999 Ramsau 10 km
Gold 1999 Ramsau 30 km
Gold 1999 Ramsau 50 km
Silver 1997 Trondheim 10 km + 15 km combined pursuit
Silver 1997 Trondheim 4 × 10 km
Silver 1999 Ramsau 10 km + 15 km combined pursuit
Bronze 1995 Thunder Bay 10 km
Bronze 1997 Trondheim 10 km
Disqualified 2001 Lahti 4 × 10 km

Mika Kristian Myllylä (September 12, 1969 – July 5, 2011[1]) was a Finnish cross country skier who competed from 1992 to 2005. He won six medals at the Winter Olympics, earning one gold (1998: 30 km), one silver (1994: 50 km), and four bronzes (1994: 30 km, 4 × 10 km; 1998: 10 km, 4 × 10 km).

Myllylä also won a total of nine medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, winning four golds (1997: 50 km, 1999: 10 km, 30 km, 50 km), three silvers (10 km + 15 km combined pursuit: 1997, 1999; 4 × 10 km relay: 1997), and two bronzes (10 km: 1995, 1997).

He was on his way to become one of the greatest stars in cross country skiing history, until he was caught doping in the Finnish 2001 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships scandal for taking hydroxyethyl starch (HES), a blood plasma expander usually used to cover up the use of erythropoietin (EPO) in athletes. The scandal also affected five other Finnish skiers, including Jari Isometsä and Harri Kirvesniemi. Myllylä received a two year suspension from the FIS as a result. In connection with a 2011 court case, Myllylä gave a sworn statement where he admitted using EPO in the 1990s, during his career.[2]

After the suspension Myllylä tried to return to skiing, but failed to come back to the international level despite winning a few Finnish championships. Myllylä retired from the skiing sports in 2005. In the following years he was involved in alcohol-related problems which were extensively covered in Finnish tabloid papers.[3] On July 5, 2011 Myllylä was found dead at his home in Kokkola. According to the police investigation, no foul play was involved and the death was ruled out as an accident[4] [5]

References

  1. ^ Dennis Hevesi (July 5, 2011). "Mika Myllyla, Olympic Skier in Doping Scandal, Dies at 41". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/sports/mika-myllyla-olympic-skier-in-doping-scandal-dies-at-41.html?ref=deathsobituaries. 
  2. ^ "Myllylä: Kerroin eposta Vähäsöyringille ja Leppävuorelle" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. Sanoma News. June 7, 2011. http://www.hs.fi/urheilu/artikkeli/Myllyl%C3%A4+Kerroin+eposta+V%C3%A4h%C3%A4s%C3%B6yringille+ja+Lepp%C3%A4vuorelle/1135266724880. Retrieved July 5, 2011. 
  3. ^ "Poliisi epäilee Mika Myllylää naisten pahoinpitelystä" (in Finnish). Ilta-Sanomat (Sanoma News). January 20, 2010. http://www.iltasanomat.fi/kotimaa/Poliisi%20ep%C3%A4ilee%20Mika%20Myllyl%C3%A4%C3%A4%20naisten%20pahoinpitelyst%C3%A4/art-1288338356189.html. Retrieved March 30, 2011. 
  4. ^ "Mika Myllylä on kuollut" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat (Sanoma News). July 5, 2011. http://www.hs.fi/urheilu/artikkeli/Mika+Myllyl%C3%A4+on+kuollut/1135267576229. Retrieved July 5, 2011. 
  5. ^ "Myllylän kuolinsyyntutkinta valmis" (in Finnish). YLE. September 9, 2011. http://yle.fi/urheilu/lajit/hiihtolajit/2011/09/is_myllylan_kuolinsyytutkinta_valmis_2861034.html. Retrieved November 30, 2011. 

Sources

See also

1956: Veikko Hakulinen (FIN) * 1960 Sixten Jernberg (SWE) * 1964: Eero Mäntyranta (FRA) * 1968: Franco Nones (ITA) * 1972: Vyacheslav Vedenin (URS) * 1976: Sergey Savelyev (URS) * 1980: Nikolay Zimyatov (URS) * 1984: Nikolay Zimyatov (URS) * 1988: Alexey Prokurorov (URS) * 1992: Vegard Ulvang (NOR) * 1994: Thomas Alsgaard (NOR) * 1998: Mika Myllylä (FIN) * 2002: Christian Hoffmann (AUT)
1991: Terje Langli (NOR) * 1993: Sture Sivertsen (NOR) * 1995: Vladimir Smirnov (KAZ) * 1997: Bjørn Dæhlie (NOR) * 1999: Mika Myllylä (FIN)
1926: Matti Raivio (FIN) * 1954: Vladimir Kuzin (URS) * 1958: Kalevi Hämäläinen (FIN) * 1962: Eero Mäntyranta (FIN) * 1966: Eero Mäntyranta (FIN) * 1970: Vyacheslav Vedenin (URS) * 1974: Thomas Magnusson (SWE) * 1978: Sergey Savelyev (URS) * 1982: Thomas Eriksson (SWE) * 1985: Gunde Svan (SWE) * 1987: Thomas Wassberg (SWE) * 1989: Vladimir Smirnov (URS) * 1991: Gunde Svan (SWE) * 1993: Bjørn Dæhlie (NOR) * 1995: Vladimir Smirnov (KAZ) * 1997: Alexey Prokurorov (RUS) * 1999: Mika Myllylä (FIN) * 2001: Andrus Veerpalu (EST) * 2003: Thomas Alsgaard (NOR)

1925: František Donth (TCH) • 1926: Matti Raivio (FIN) • 1927: John Lindgren (SWE) • 1929: Anselm Knuuttila (FIN) • 1930: Sven Utterström (SWE) • 1931: Ole Stenen (NOR)  • 1933: Veli Saarinen (FIN)  • 1934: Elis Wiklund (SWE)  • 1935: Nils-Joel Englund (SWE)  • 1937: Pekka Niemi (FIN)  • 1938: Kalle Jalkanen (FIN)  • 1939: Lars Bergendahl (NOR)  • 1950: Gunnar Eriksson (SWE)  • 1954: Vladimir Kuzin (URS)  • 1958: Sixten Jernberg (SWE)  • 1962: Sixten Jernberg (SWE)  • 1966: Gjermund Eggen (NOR)  • 1970: Kalevi Oikarainen (FIN)  • 1974: Gerhard Grimmer (GDR)  • 1978: Sven-Åke Lundbäck (SWE)  • 1982: Thomas Wassberg (SWE)  • 1985: Gunde Svan (SWE)  • 1987: Maurilio De Zolt (ITA)  • 1989: Gunde Svan (SWE)  • 1991: Torgny Mogren (SWE)  • 1993: Torgny Mogren (SWE)  • 1995: Silvio Fauner (ITA)  • 1997: Mika Myllylä (FIN)  • 1999: Mika Myllylä (FIN)  • 2001: Johann Mühlegg (ESP)  • 2003: Martin Koukal (CZE)  • 2005: Frode Estil (NOR)  • 2007: Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset (NOR)  • 2009: Petter Northug (NOR)  • 2011: Petter Northug (NOR)