Virpi Sarasvuo

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Virpi Kuitunen leading the group in the quarterfinals of Tour de Ski, Prague 2007

Virpi Sarasvuo

Personal information

Full name

Virpi Katriina Sarasvuo

Born

20 May 1976
Kangasniemi, Finland

Height

174 cm

Professional information

Club

Kangasniemen Kalske

Skis

Rossignol

World Cup

Seasons

1997–2010

Wins

Additional podiums

Total podiums

Medal record

Women's cross country skiing
Representing Finland
Olympic Games
Bronze	2006 Turin	Team sprint
Bronze	2010 Vancouver	4 x 5 km relay
World Championships
Gold	2001 Lahti	5 km + 5 km combined pursuit
Gold	2007 Sapporo	Team sprint
Gold	2007 Sapporo	30 km
Gold	2007 Sapporo	4 x 5 km
Gold	2009 Liberec	Team sprint
Gold	2009 Liberec	4 x 5 km
Silver	2005 Oberstdorf	30 km
Bronze	2007 Sapporo	Individual sprint
Disqualified	2001 Lahti	4 x 5 km

Virpi Katriina Sarasvuo^[1] (née Kuitunen, born 20 May 1976 in Kangasniemi, Southern Savonia) is a Finnish cross country skier who competed from 1995 to 2010. She won a bronze medal in the team sprint event (with Aino Kaisa Saarinen) at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and earned her best individual finish of fifth in the individual sprint event in those same games. Four years later in Vancouver, Kuitunen won another bronze, this time in the 4 x 5 km relay.

Kuitunen has seven medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with five golds (2001: 5 km + 5 km combined pursuit, 2007: Team sprint, with Riitta-Liisa Roponen, 30 km, & 4 x 5 km; 2009: Team sprint, 4 x 5 km), one silver (2005: 30 km), one bronze (2007: Individual sprint). She also has thirty-four additional individual victories at various levels of various distances since 2000.

Kuitunen won the first ever Tour de Ski competition for women in 2006–07, winning over Norway's Marit Bjørgen by 1:17.5. She also won the overall 2006–07 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup, as well as the sprint World Cup the same season. In the season 2007–08 Kuitunen won the overall again.

Because of Kuitunen's successes in cross country skiing in 2007, she was awarded Finnish Sportswoman of the Year. Kuitunen also won the Tour de Ski in 2008–09.

Virpi Kuitunen married Jari Sarasvuo on 16 July 2010.^[1]

Doping controversy

At the 2001 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti, Kuitunen was disqualified when she tested positive for hydroxyethyl starch, a banned blood plasma expander. This forced her to relinquish her silver medal earned in the 4 x 5 km and serve a two-year suspension that would not end until the 2003 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 "Virpi ja Jari Sarasvuo avioon kokovalkoisissa asuissa". HS.fi (in Finnish). Helsinki: Helsingin Sanomat Oy. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.

Virpi Sarasvuo at the International Ski Federation
Tour de Virpi report – Accessed 11 January 2007.

External links

Media related to Virpi Sarasvuo at Wikimedia Commons

v t e World champions in women's cross-country skiing team sprint

2005: Norway (Hilde Gjermundshaug Pedersen, Marit Bjørgen) 2007: Finland (Riitta-Liisa Roponen, Virpi Kuitunen) 2009: Finland (Virpi Kuitunen, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen) 2011: Sweden (Ida Ingemarsdotter, Charlotte Kalla) 2013: USA (Jessica Diggins, Kikkan Randall)

v t e World champions in women's cross-country combined/double pursuit

5 km + 10 km combined	1993: Stefania Belmondo (ITA) 1995: Larisa Lazutina (RUS) 1997: Yelena Välbe (RUS) & Stefania Belmondo (ITA) 1999: Stefania Belmondo (ITA)

5 km + 5 km combined	2001: Virpi Kuitunen (FIN)

5 km + 5 km double	2003: Kristina Šmigun (EST)

7.5 km + 7.5 km double	2005: Yuliya Chepalova (RUS) 2007: Olga Zavyalova (RUS) 2009: Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) 2011: Marit Bjørgen (NOR) 2013: Marit Bjørgen (NOR)

v t e World champions in women's cross-country skiing 3/4 x 5 km relay

3 x 5 km	1954: Soviet Union Lyubov Kozyreva Margarita Maslennikova Valentina Tsaryova 1958: Soviet Union Radya Yeroshina Alevtina Kolchina Lyubov Kozyreva 1962: Soviet Union Lyubov Baranova Maria Gusakova Alevtina Kolchina 1966: Soviet Union Klavdiya Boyarskikh Rita Achkina Alevtina Kolchina 1970: Soviet Union Nina Baldycheva Galina Kulakova Alevtina Olyunina

4 x 5 km	1974: Soviet Union Nina Baldycheva Nina Selyunina Raisa Smetanina Galina Kulakova 1978: Finland Taina Impiö Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen Hilkka Riihivuori Helena Takalo 1982: Norway Anette Bøe Inger Helene Nybråten Berit Aunli Britt Pettersen 1985: Soviet Union Tamara Tikhonova Raisa Smetanina Liliya Vasilchenko Anfisa Romanova 1987: Soviet Union Antonina Ordina Nina Gavrilyuk Larisa Ptistyna Anfisa Reztsova 1989: Finland Pirkko Määttä Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi Jaana Savolainen Marjo Matikainen 1991: Soviet Union Lyubov Yegorova Raisa Smetanina Tamara Tikhonova Yelena Välbe 1993: Russia Yelena Välbe Larisa Lazutina Nina Gavrilyuk Lyubov Yegorova 1995: Russia Olga Danilova Yelena Välbe Larisa Lazutina Nina Gavrilyuk 1997: Russia Olga Danilova Larisa Lazutina Nina Gavrilyuk Yelena Välbe 1999: Russia Olga Danilova Larisa Lazutina Anfisa Reztsova Nina Gavrilyuk 2001: Russia Olga Danilova Larisa Lazutina Yuliya Chepalova Nina Gavrilyuk 2003: Germany Manuela Henkel Viola Bauer Claudia Künzel Evi Sachenbacher 2005: Norway Vibeke Skofterud Hilde Gjermundshaug Pedersen Kristin Størmer Steira Marit Bjørgen 2007: Finland Virpi Kuitunen Aino-Kaisa Saarinen Riitta-Liisa Roponen Pirjo Manninen 2009: Finland Pirjo Muranen Virpi Kuitunen Riitta-Liisa Roponen Aino-Kaisa Saarinen 2011: Norway Vibeke Skofterud Therese Johaug Kristin Størmer Steira Marit Bjørgen 2013: Norway Heidi Weng Therese Johaug Kristin Størmer Steira Marit Bjørgen

v t e World champions in women's 20 km and 30 km cross-country skiing

20 km	1978: Zinaida Amosova (URS) 1980: Veronika Hesse (GDR) 1982: Raisa Smetanina (URS) 1985: Grete Ingeborg Nykkelmo (NOR) 1987: Marie-Helene Westin (SWE)

30 km	1989: Yelena Välbe (URS) 1991: Lyubov Yegorova (URS) 1993: Stefania Belmondo (ITA) 1995: Yelena Välbe (RUS) 1997: Yelena Välbe (RUS) 1999: Larisa Lazutina (RUS) 2001: cancelled 2003: Olga Zavyalova (URS) 2005: Marit Bjørgen (NOR) 2007: Virpi Kuitunen (FIN) 2009: Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) 2011: Therese Johaug (NOR) 2013: Marit Bjørgen (NOR)

Finnish Sportswoman of the Year

Kerttu Pehkonen (1947)
Sylvi Saimo (1948)
Eevi Huttunen (1949)
Sylvi Saimo (1950)
Eevi Huttunen (1951)
Sylvi Saimo (1952)
Eevi Huttunen (1953)
Siiri Rantanen (1954)
Mirja Hietamies (1955)
Siiri Rantanen (1956)
Iris Sihvonen (1957)
Siiri Rantanen (1958)
Siiri Rantanen (1959)
Eevi Huttunen (1960)
Mirja Lehtonen (1961)
Maire Rautakoski (1962)
Mirja Lehtonen (1963)
Kaija Mustonen (1964)
Maire Lindholm (1965)
Eila Pyrhönen (1966)
Eija Krogerus (1967)
Kaija Mustonen (1968)
Marjatta Kajosmaa (1969)
Marjatta Kajosmaa (1970)
Marjatta Kajosmaa (1971)
Marjatta Kajosmaa (1972)
Mona-Lisa Pursiainen (1973)
Riitta Salin (1974)
Helena Takalo (1975)
Helena Takalo (1976)
Lea Hilokoski (1977)
Helena Takalo (1978)
Outi Borgenström (1979)
Hilkka Riihivuori (1980)
Hilkka Riihivuori (1981)
Hilkka Riihivuori (1982)
Tiina Lillak (1983)
Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi (1984)
Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi (1985)
Marjo Matikainen (1986)
Marjo Matikainen (1987)
Marjo Matikainen (1988)
Marjo Matikainen (1989)
Päivi Alafrantti (1990)
Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi (1991)
Marjut Lukkarinen (1992)
Sari Essayah (1993)
Sari Essayah (1994)
Sari Laine (1995)
Heli Rantanen (1996)
Raija Koskinen (1997)
Satu Pusila (1998)
Tuuli Matinsalo (1999)
Pia Sundstedt (2000)
Pirjo Manninen (2001)
Heli Koivula (2002)
Hanna-Maria Seppälä (2003)
Tanja Poutiainen (2004)
Tanja Poutiainen (2005)
Tanja Poutiainen (2006)
Virpi Kuitunen (2007)
Satu Mäkelä-Nummela (2008)
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (2009)
Minna Kauppi (2010)
Kaisa Mäkäräinen (2011)

Persondata
Name	Sarasvuo, Virpi
Alternative names
Short description	Cross-country skier
Date of birth	20 May 1976
Place of birth	Kangasniemi, Finland
Date of death
Place of death

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