Paavo Puurunen

Paavo Puurunen was born on 28 August 1973 in Kuhmo, Kainuu, Finland. He is a retired biathlete and a carpenter by trade. His first year in biathlon was 1984 and he made his World Cup debut during the 1995-1996 season. Puurunen is the most successful biathlete Finland has ever produced. He is the World Champion in the 20 km Individual at the 2001 World Championships in Pokljuka. Also he won one bronze medal from the 2003 World Championships in the 12.5 km pursuit in Khanty-Mansyisk. Puurunen competed in four Winter Olympic Games in 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010. At the Games in Nagano in 1998, he placed 23rd in the Individual, 9th in the sprint and 8th in the relay. In Salt Lake City in 2002, Puurunen was 15th in the Individual, 16th in the sprint, 28th in the pursuit and 12th in the relay. During the 2006 Games in Turin he made his best Olympic result ever by finishing 4th in the mass start; was 12th in the Individual, 45th in the sprint and 22nd in the pursuit. Sadly in Vancouver he couldn't show such performance. Puurunen took part i only two events - the Individual where was 53rd and the sprint ending up at the disastrous 73rd place. Puurunen participated in 13 World Championships during his career from 1996 until 2011. Aside from winning two medals over the years, he made excellent placings - 4th in the mass start in Holmenkollen in 1999, 6th in the same discipline in Khanty-Mansyisk in 2003, 6th in the sprint in Pokljuka in 2001, 7th in the pursuit in Oberhof in 2004 and twice 8th in the sprint in 2004 and in the mass start in 2000 in Holmenkollen. On the World Cup tour, Puurunen had such results during his career. He came 6th in the sprint in Holmenkollen in 2005, 7th in the pursuit in Pokljuka in 1999 and again 7th in the pursuit in Hochfilzen in 1998. The best overall finish Paavo Puurunen achieved in his career is 19th in the 1999-2000 season. He announced his retirement from the sport in 2011.