Jari Isometsä

Jari Isometsä
Country Finland
Full nameJari Olavi Isometsä
Born (1968-09-11) 11 September 1968 (age 56)
Tornio, Finland
Ski clubAlatornion Pirkat
World Cup career
Seasons15 – (1990, 1992–2001, 2003–2006)
Indiv. starts131
Indiv. podiums23
Indiv. wins4
Team starts39
Team podiums21
Team wins7
Overall titles0 – (2nd in 2000)
Discipline titles1 – (1 MD: 2000)
Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Albertville 4 × 10 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Lillehammer 4 × 10 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Nagano 4 × 10 km relay
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1995 Thunder Bay 4 × 10 km relay
Silver medal – second place 1997 Trondheim 4 × 10 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 1991 Val di Fiemme 4 × 10 km relay
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Thunder Bay 10 km + 15 km
combined pursuit
Disqualified 2001 Lahti 10 km + 10 km
combined pursuit

Jari Olavi Isometsä (born 11 September 1968) is a Finnish former cross-country skier who competed from 1990 to 2006. He won three bronze medals in the 4 × 10 km relay at the Winter Olympics (1992, 1994, 1998).

Isometsä also won four medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with two silvers (4 × 10 km: 1995, 1997) and two bronzes (4 × 10 km: 1991, 10 km + 15 km combined pursuit: 1995). In the World Cup, he took four victories in races between 10 km and 30 km.

Isometsä was among the six Finnish skiers who were caught of 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. He was stripped of his silver medal in the 10 km + 10 km combined pursuit and served a two-year suspension from the FIS, IOC, and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), effectively ending his career as a world-class skier.

In 2013, Isometsä received a six-month suspended sentence after the Helsinki District Court found that he had committed perjury when witnessing to the court in 2011 that he was unaware of any doping use in the 1990s.[1]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[2]

Olympic Games

  • 3 medals – (3 bronze)
 Year   Age   10 km   Pursuit   30 km   50 km   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
1992 23 16 12 — 22 Bronze
1994 25 23 DNS 6 — Bronze
1998 29 15 8 4 — Bronze

World Championships

  • 4 medals – (2 silver, 2 bronze)
 Year   Age   10 km   15 km   Pursuit   30 km   50 km   Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
1991 22 — — — — — — Bronze
1993 24 15 — 13 — — — 4
1995 26 8 — Bronze 9 — — Silver
1997 28 14 — 6 14 13 — Silver
1999 30 11 — 4 — 14 — 5
2001 32 — DSQ DSQ — — — —

World Cup

Season standings

 Season   Age 
Overall Distance Long Distance Middle Distance Sprint
1990 21 40 — — — —
1992 23 22 — — — —
1993 24 22 — — — —
1994 25 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) — — — —
1995 26 5 — — — —
1996 27 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) — — — —
1997 28 6 — 16 — 6
1998 29 5 — 5 — 9
1999 30 8 — 15 — —
2000 31 2nd place, silver medalist(s) — 12 1st place, gold medalist(s) 53
2001 32 53 — — — —
2003 34 78 — — — —
2004 35 119 79 — — —
2005 36 NC NC — — —
2006 37 NC NC — — —

Individual podiums

  • 4 victories
  • 23 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1  1993–94  21 December 1993 Italy Toblach, Italy 10 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
2  1994–95  17 December 1994 Italy Sappada, Italy 15 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
3 14 January 1995 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
4 27 January 1995 Finland Lahti, Finland 15 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
5 29 January 1995 Finland Lahti, Finland 15 km Pursuit C World Cup 2nd
6 13 March 1995 Canada Thunder Bay, Canada 15 km Pursuit F World Championships[1] 3rd
7  1995–96  29 November 1995 Sweden Gällivare, Sweden 15 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
8 17 December 1995 Italy Santa Caterina, Italy 15 km Pursuit F World Cup 2nd
9 14 January 1996 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
10 2 February 1996 Austria Seefeld, Austria 10 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
11 3 March 1996 Finland Lahti, Finland 30 km Individual F World Cup 1st
12 9 March 1996 Sweden Falun, Sweden 10 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
13 10 March 1996 Sweden Falun, Sweden 15 km Pursuit C World Cup 3rd
14  1996–97  23 November 1996 Sweden Kiruna, Sweden 10 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
15 11 January 1997 Japan Nagano, Japan 10 km Individual C World Cup 3rd
16 12 January 1997 Japan Nagano, Japan 15 km Pursuit F World Cup 3rd
17  1997–98  8 January 1998 Austria Ramsau, Austria 15 km Individual C World Cup 3rd
18  1998–99  13 December 1998 Italy Toblach, Italy 15 km Pursuit C World Cup 3rd
19 14 February 1999 Austria Seefeld, Austria 10 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
20 1999–00 5 February 2000 Norway Lillehammer, Norway 10 km + 10 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 1st
21 16 February 2000 Switzerland Ulrichen, Switzerland 10 km Individual F World Cup 1st
22 26 February 2000 Sweden Falun, Sweden 15 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
23 19 March 2000 Italy Bormio, Italy 15 km Pursuit F World Cup 1st

Team podiums

  • 7 victories – (7 RL)
  • 21 podiums – (19 RL, 2 TS)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammate(s)
1  1990–91  15 February 1991 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Championships[1] 3rd Kuusisto / Kirvesniemi / Räsänen
2  1991–92  18 February 1992 France Albertville, France 4 × 10 km Relay C/F Olympic Games[1] 3rd Kuusisto / Kirvesniemi / Räsänen
3 28 February 1992 Finland Lahti, Finland 4 × 10 km Relay F World Cup 3rd Myllylä / Hartonen / Räsänen
4  1993–94  22 February 1994 Norway Lillehammer, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C/F Olympic Games[1] 3rd Myllylä / Kirvesniemi / Räsänen
5 4 March 1994 Finland Lahti, Finland 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Repo / Kirvesniemi / Räsänen
6  1994–95  18 December 1994 Italy Sappada, Italy 4 × 10 km Relay F World Cup 2nd Repo / Hartonen / Myllylä
7 15 January 1995 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Hietamäki / Kirvesniemi / Myllylä
8 5 February 1995 Sweden Falun, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay F World Cup 2nd Räsänen / Hartonen / Myllylä
9 17 March 1995 Canada Thunder Bay, Canada 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Championships[1] 2nd Hietamäki / Kirvesniemi / Räsänen
10 26 March 1995 Japan Sapporo, Japan 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 3rd Kuusisto / Kirvesniemi / Repo
11 1995–96 10 December 1995 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Hietamäki / Repo / Myllylä
12 14 January 1996 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Repo / Myllylä / Kirvesniemi
13 3 February 1996 Austria Seefeld, Austria 12 × 1.5 km Team Sprint F World Cup 3rd Myllylä
14 17 March 1996 Norway Oslo, Norway 4 × 5 km Relay F World Cup 3rd Palolahti / Repo / Vuorenmaa
15 1996–97 24 November 1996 Sweden Kiruna, Sweden 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Repo / Kirvesniemi / Myllylä
16 8 December 1996 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 1st Repo / Kirvesniemi / Myllylä
17 28 February 1997 Norway Trondheim, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Championships[1] 2nd Kirvesniemi / Myllylä / Räsänen
18  1997–98  23 November 1997 Norway Beitostølen, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 2nd Kirvesniemi / Repo / Taipale
19 6 March 1998 Finland Lahti, Finland 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Kirvesniemi / Myllylä / Repo
20 10 March 1998 Sweden Falun, Sweden 10 × 1.6 km Team Sprint F World Cup 3rd Palolahti
21  1999–00  19 December 1999 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 4 × 10 km Relay C World Cup 2nd Immonen / Myllylä / Kirvesniemi

Note: 1 Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

References

  1. ^ Passi, Minna (18 October 2013). "Ex-hiihtäjille ehdollista dopingjupakasta – oikeuden mukaan kolmikko käytti kiellettyjä aineita". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Athlete : ISOMETSAE Jari". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 28 February 2018.