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Kirsi Hänninen
Kirsi Hänninen
Born	3 October 1976 (age 48); Joensuu, Finland
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	68 kg (150 lb; 10 st 10 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	JoKP Joensuu; Kiekko-Espoo; JYP Jyväskylä; KalPa Kuopio; Oulun Kärpät
National team	Finland
Playing career	1992–2002
Olympic Games
World Championship
European Championship

Kirsi Maaria Hänninen (born 3 October 1976 in Joensuu, Finland) is a Finnish retired ice hockey defenceman and pesäpallo player. She played 116 games with the Finnish national ice hockey team and won a bronze medal with them in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympics.^[1]

Playing career

Over her ten-year ice hockey career, Hänninen played with five different teams in the Naisten SM-sarja, the highest level women's hockey league in Finland. She spent four seasons, from 1996 to 2000, with JYP Jyväskylä and won the SM-sarja Championship with them in 1996 and 1997. She also played with JoKP (1992–93), Kiekko-Espoo (1993–94), KalPa (1995–96), and Oulun Kärpät (2001-02).^[2]

Hänninen is well known in Finland for her career in the Superpesis, Finland's top pesäpallo league, where she competed from 1993 to 2005 and was a five-time Finnish Champion.^[3]

Personal life

Hänninen is a founding member of VRT Finland, an underwater structural inspection company operating in the Baltic Sea and Central Europe, and currently serves as CEO of the company.^[4]

Awards and honors

Ice Hockey
Award	Year
Naisten SM-sarja Champion	1997 (JyP HT) 1998 (JYP)
Most Points by a Defenceman in the Olympic Ice Hockey women's tournament	1998 (7 points) tied with Thérèse Brisson
Best Defenceman in the IIHF World Women's Championships	1999
IIHF World Women's Championships All-Star Team	1999
Suomen Jääkiekkoleijona Inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame Finland	2018

Pesäpallo
Award	Year
Superpesis Best Runner Most Runs in the Regular Season	1995, 1996, 2000
Superpesis Champion	1996 (Jyväskylän Kiri) 1997 (Jyväskylän Kiri) 2000 (PattU)
Finnish Pesäpallo Association Player of the Year Suomen Pesäpalloliitto Naispesäpalloilijaksi	2000, 2004
Superpesis Best Batter Most Hits in the Regular Season	2004
Superpesis Golden Bat Player-elected Best Offensive Player	2004

^[5]^[6]

References

^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen. Mallon, Bill (ed.). "Kirsi Hänninen Bio, Stats, and Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
^ "Player Profile: Kirsi Hänninen". eliteprospects.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
^ Ruusu, Susanna (10 May 2022). "Olympiamitalisti Kirsi Hänninen tapasi pelikavereitaan – "Urheilu kuuluu yhä elämääni"". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
^ "Kirsi Hänninen aateloidaan Jääkiekkoleijonaksi" [Kirsi Hänninen honored as a Jääkiekkoleijona]. Pesäpalloliitto (in Finnish). 24 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
^ "Pattijoelle naisten Suomen mestaruus pesäpallossa" [Pattijoki are the Finnish Women's Pesäpallo Champions] (in Finnish). MTV3 Uutiset. 16 September 2000. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
^ "Hänninen ylitti 500 tuotua, Vehniäinen 400 lyötyä" [Hänninen exceeded 500 runs, Vehniäinen beat 400] (in Finnish). MTV3 Uutiset. 11 July 2005. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.