Hannu Manninen

Skier infobox|name= Hannu Manninen


fullname = Hannu Kalevi Manninen
nickname = "Juhis"
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1978|4|17
cityofbirth = Rovaniemi
countryofbirth = Finland
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
club = Ounasvaaran Hiihtoseura
skis = Madshus (Cross country)
Germina (Ski jumping)
seasons = 1994-2008
wins = 45
additionalpodiums = 40
totalpodiums = 85

Hannu Kalevi Manninen (born April 17, 1978 in Rovaniemi) is a retired Finnish nordic combined athlete. Debuting at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer at the age of 15, he took his first medal. Three years later at the age of 18 when he won silver in the 4 x 5 km team event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. At the 2002 Winter Olympics, he won a gold medal in the 4 x 5 km team event at the age of 23. He has five other nordic skiing World Championships medals, earning three golds (4 x 5 km team: 1999, 2007 and 7.5 km sprint: 2007) and two bronzes (4 x 5 km team: 2001, 2003). He has two other Olympic team medals as well (silver: 1998, bronze: 2006).

Manninen has the record for most wins (45) and most championship titles (4), after passing Kenji Ogiwara's records during the 2006-07 season, in the Nordic combined World Cup. He also has won the 7.5 km sprint event of the Nordic combined three times (2002, 2004, 2005) at the Holmenkollen ski festival.

As a cross country skier, he finished 8th in the individual sprint event at the 2002 Winter Olympics. His younger sister, Pirjo is a cross country skier who has also won several World Championship medals, including two golds at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (Individual sprint: 2001, 4 x 5 km: 2007). They are the first brother-sister combination to ever win gold medals at the same championships.

Manninen announced his retirement from competition on May 29, 2008 to focus on his family and a future career as an airline pilot.

References

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=skiing&id=3416906 ESPN.com May 29, 2008 announcement of Manninen's retirement.] - accessed May 29, 2008.
*FIS Newsflash 177 on Manninen's potential retirement. April 30, 2008.
*FIS|S=CC|ID=37421|note=Cross-country
*FIS|S=NK|ID=37422|note=Nordic combined
* [http://www.skiforeningen.no/holmenkollen/holmenkollen_historikk Holmenkollen winners since 1892] - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file no icon
* [http://hannumanninen.net/ Official website]