Mika Myllylä


Mika Kristian Myllylä was a Finnish cross-country skier who competed from 1992 to 2005. He won six medals at the Winter Olympics, earning one gold, one silver, and four bronzes.
Myllylä also won a total of nine medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, winning four golds, three silvers, and two bronzes.
He was on his way to become one of the greatest stars in cross-country skiing history, until he was caught doping in the Finnish 2001 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships scandal for taking hydroxyethyl starch, a blood plasma expander usually used to cover up the use of erythropoietin in athletes. The scandal also affected five other Finnish skiers, including Jari Isometsä and Harri Kirvesniemi. Myllylä received a two-year suspension from the FIS as a result. In connection with a 2011 court case, Myllylä gave a sworn statement where he admitted using EPO in the 1990s, during his career.
After the suspension Myllylä tried to return to skiing, but failed to come back to the international level despite winning a few Finnish championships. Myllylä retired from the skiing sports in 2005. In the following years he was involved in alcohol-related problems which were extensively covered in Finnish tabloid papers. On 5 July 2011, Myllylä was found dead at his home in Kokkola. The official police investigation concluded that his death was the result of an accident, and ruled out the possibility of foul play and suicide.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation.

Olympic Games

Year Age 10 km 15 km Pursuit 30 km 50 km Sprint 4 × 10 km
relay
199323171823—4
199525Bronze44——
199727BronzeSilver10GoldSilver
199929GoldSilverGoldGold5
200131———

World Cup

Season titles

Individual podiums

No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlace
11993–949 January 1994 Kavgalovo, Russia15 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
21993–9415 January 1994 Oslo, Norway10 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
31993–9414 February 1994 Lillehammer, Norway30 km Individual FOlympic Games3rd
41993–9427 February 1994 Lillehammer, Norway 50 km Individual COlympic Games2nd
51993–9412 March 1994 Falun, Sweden30 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
61994–9511 March 1995 Thunder Bay, Canada10 km Individual CWorld Championships3rd
71995–9616 December 1995 Santa Caterina, Italy10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
81995–9613 January 1996 Nové Město, Czech Republic15 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
91996–977 December 1996 Davos, Switzerland10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
101996–974 January 1997 Kavgalovo, Russia30 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
111996–9719 January 1997 Lahti, Finland30 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
121996–9724 February 1997 Trondheim, Norway10 km Individual CWorld Championships3rd
131996–9725 February 1997 Trondheim, Norway10 km + 15 km Pursuit C/FWorld Championships2nd
141996–972 March 1997 Trondheim, Norway50 km Individual CWorld Championships1st
151997–983 January 1998 Kavgalovo, Russia30 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
161997–988 January 1998 Ramsau, Austria15 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
171998–995 January 1999 Otepää, Estonia15 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
181998–9914 February 1999 Seefeld, Austria10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
191998–9919 February 1999 Ramsau, Austria30 km Individual FWorld Championships1st
201998–9922 February 1999 Ramsau, Austria10 km Individual CWorld Championships1st
211998–9923 February 1999 Ramsau, Austria10 km + 15 km Pursuit C/FWorld Championships2nd
221998–9928 February 1999 Ramsau, Austria50 km Individual CWorld Championships1st
231998–9913 March 1999 Falun, Sweden30 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
241999–20002 February 2000 Trondheim, Norway10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
252000–0120 December 2000 Davos, Switzerland30 km Individual CWorld Cup1st

Team podiums

No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlaceTeammate
1 1991–92 28 February 1992 Lahti, Finland4 × 10 km Relay FWorld Cup3rdHartonen / Räsänen / Isometsä
2 1993–94 22 February 1994 Lillehammer, Norway4 × 10 km Relay C/FOlympic Games3rdKirvesniemi / Räsänen / Isometsä
3 1994–95 18 December 1994 Sappada, Italy4 × 10 km Relay FWorld Cup2ndRepo / Hartonen / Isometsä
4 1994–95 15 January 1995 Nové Město, Czech Republic4 × 10 km Relay CWorld Cup1stHietamäki / Isometsä / Kirvesniemi
5 1994–95 5 February 1995 Falun, Sweden4 × 10 km Relay FWorld Cup2ndRäsänen / Hartonen / Isometsä
61995–9610 December 1995 Davos, Switzerland4 × 10 km Relay CWorld Cup1stHietamäki / Repo / Isometsä
71995–9614 January 1996 Nové Město, Czech Republic4 × 10 km Relay CWorld Cup1stRepo / Kirvesniemi / Isometsä
81995–963 February 1996 Seefeld, Austria12 × 1.5 km Team Sprint FWorld Cup3rdIsometsä
91996–9724 November 1996 Kiruna, Sweden4 × 10 km Relay CWorld Cup1stRepo / Kirvesniemi / Isometsä
101996–978 December 1996 Davos, Switzerland4 × 10 km Relay CWorld Cup1stIsometsä / Repo / Kirvesniemi
111996–9728 February 1997 Trondheim, Norway4 × 10 km Relay C/FWorld Championships2ndKirvesniemi / Räsänen / Isometsä
121997–986 March 1998 Lahti, Finland4 × 10 km Relay C/FWorld Cup1stKirvesniemi / Repo / Isometsä
13 1998–99 14 March 1999 Falun, Sweden4 × 10 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2ndImmonen / Kirvesniemi / Repo
14 1999–00 19 December 1999 Davos, Switzerland4 × 10 km Relay CWorld Cup2ndImmonen / Kirvesniemi / Isometsä
15 2000–01 26 November 2000 Beitostølen, Norway4 × 10 km Relay C/FWorld Cup2ndImmonen / Kirvesniemi / Repo

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

Overall record

Note: Until 1999 World Championships and 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races are part of the World Cup. Hence results from those races are included in the World Cup overall record.