Mikko Ronkainen

3.1. Early career

Ronkainen made his competitive debut in the 1995-1996 season in the Europe Cup, where he achieved one victory. Later that season, at 17 years old, he made his first appearances in the World Cup, but failed to qualify for the finals in any event. The following season, after a poor start in the World Cup, he was removed from the national team and returned to the Europe Cup. However, he finished the season on a high note by winning the World Youth Championships in Ruka, narrowly defeating Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau. This victory earned him a spot in the final World Cup event of the season, where he placed 16th out of 20 competitors.

In the 1997-1998 season, Ronkainen rejoined the national team and competed in a full World Cup schedule, achieving his first top-ten finish in dual moguls. By the 1998-1999 season, at the age of 20, he qualified for the finals in a singles event for the first time and achieved his first World Cup podium, finishing second in a dual moguls event. He also competed in the World Championships that March, placing fifth in qualifications but dropping to 15th in the finals due to a mistake. At this time, Finnish moguls skiing was dominated by a "big three" consisting of Janne Lahtela, Lauri Lassila, and Sami Mustonen, and Ronkainen began to emerge as the fourth prominent Finnish skier.

3.2. World Cup and World Championships

The 1999-2000 season saw Ronkainen claim his first World Cup victory in the opening singles event in Tänndalen, Sweden. He led qualifications in several subsequent events but struggled with consistency in the finals. The 2000-2001 season brought Ronkainen his second World Cup win. In January of that season, he competed at the World Championships in Whistler. After qualifying in first place, he performed last in the finals, scoring over 28 points, significantly surpassing Rousseau's leading score of 26 points, to win his first World Championship gold medal. Following the World Championships, he secured another World Cup win. With Janne Lahtela sidelined by an injury, Ronkainen took advantage, winning the final event and securing both the overall World Cup moguls title and the overall freestyle World Cup title for the season.

In the 2001-2002 season, Ronkainen earned two more World Cup victories late in the season but finished fifth in the overall standings. The 2002-2003 season saw him secure one win early on, but again finished fifth overall. However, at the World Championships held mid-season in Deer Valley, Ronkainen achieved a historic feat by winning his second consecutive World Championship gold medal, becoming only the second male skier in history to do so after Edgar Grospiron. His winning score again surpassed 28 points, with four out of five judges giving him a perfect score for turns. He publicly stated that the 2003-2004 season would be a partial one for rest, missing several events.

3.3. Olympic participation

Ronkainen competed in three Winter Olympic Games during his career. He made his Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he placed eighth in the moguls event, narrowly missing a medal.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Ronkainen delivered one of his most notable performances. Starting eighth, he achieved a high score of over 26 points. He held the provisional lead until the very last competitor, Dale Begg-Smith, edged him out by just 0.15 points, resulting in Ronkainen earning a silver medal.

He initially retired after the 2006-2007 season but returned to competition for the 2009-2010 season with the goal of participating in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. At his third Olympic appearance, he placed 14th.

3.4. Later career and retirement

During the 2004-2005 season, Ronkainen secured a World Cup win in the final event before the World Championships, finishing fourth overall in the World Cup standings. At the World Championships in Ruka, he was well-positioned after qualifying third in the singles event but failed in the air landing during the finals, finishing ninth and missing an unprecedented third consecutive world title. In the dual moguls, he reached the semifinals but was defeated by fellow Finn Sami Mustonen, thus missing out on another medal.

Following his Olympic silver medal in Turin, Ronkainen won another World Cup event in the 2005-2006 season. He participated in only the Japanese rounds of the 2006-2007 World Cup season, finishing 13th in singles and second in dual moguls. He then competed in the World Championships in Madonna di Campiglio, where he placed 36th in singles, and subsequently announced his retirement from the sport. However, he reversed his retirement decision and returned for the 2009-2010 season, specifically aiming to compete in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Throughout his career, Ronkainen competed in 93 World Cup events, securing 8 victories and reaching the podium 18 times.

4.1. Europe Cup

• 1995-1996 season: 1 win in 5 starts
  • Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic: Singles winner
• 1996-1997 season: 1 win and 1 third-place finish in 7 starts
  • Ruka, Finland: Singles winner
• 1997-1998 season: 2 starts, highest finish 33rd
• 1998-1999 season: 1 start, 45th place

4.2. World Youth Championships

• 1995 Mount Buller (Australia): Singles 5th
• 1996 Châtel (France): Singles 14th
• 1997 Ruka (Finland): Singles 1st

4.3. World Cup

4.4. World Championships

• 1999 Meiringen-Hasliberg:
  • Singles: 15th
  • Duals: 17th
• 2001 Whistler:
  • Singles: Gold Medal
  • Duals: 4th
• 2003 Deer Valley:
  • Singles: Gold Medal
  • Duals: 9th
• 2005 Ruka:
  • Singles: 9th
  • Duals: 4th
• 2007 Madonna di Campiglio:
  • Singles: 36th

4.5. Olympic Games

• 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics: 8th
• 2006 Turin Olympics: 2nd (Silver Medal)
• 2010 Vancouver Olympics: 14th