"THE FLYING FINN"and WORLD CHAMPION,VIRPI KUITUNEN from FINLAND

Virpi Kuitunen

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

Virpi Kuitunen
Personal information
Full name	Virpi Katriina Kuitunen
Date of birth	20 May 1976 (age 33)(1976-05-20)
Place of birth	Kangasniemi, Finland
Height	174 cm
Professional information
Club	Kangasniemen Kalske
Skis	Rossignol
World Cup
Seasons	1997-
Wins	10
Additional podiums	16
Total podiums	26
Infobox last updated on: {{{updated}}}

Medal record
Women's cross country skiing
Competitor for Finland
Olympic Games
Bronze	2006 Turin	Team sprint
Bronze	2010 Vancouver	4x5 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 Kuitunen (born 20 May 1976 in Kangasniemi) is a Finnish cross country skier who has competed since 1995. 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.

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: Indvidiual 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.

[edit] 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.

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