Finland competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia from 7 to 23 February 2014. The Finnish team consisted of 103 competitors who participated in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, ski jumping, snowboarding, and speed skating.

Medalists

Medals by sportSport TotalCross-country skiing1203Ice hockey0011Snowboarding0101Total1315

Medal Name Sport Event Date Cross-country skiing Men's team sprint Snowboarding Women's slopestyle Krista LähteenmäkiKerttu NiskanenAino-Kaisa Saarinen Cross-country skiing Women's relay Cross-country skiing Women's team sprint Ice hockey Men's tournament

Preparations by the Finnish Olympic Committee Financial coaching support The Finnish Olympic Committee launched its Sochi 2014 coaching program in June 2010, distributing financial support in winter sports to member federations and top level athletes directly.

+ Coaching support in euros per discipline by season 2010–2011 2011–2012 2012–2013 2013–2014 Total 2010 total Alpine skiing 150,000 245,000 685,000 490,000 Biathlon 272,000 190,000 Cross-country skiingx 865,000 667,000 Curling 85,000 55,000 Figure skating 360,000 161,000 Freestyle skiing 472,000 460,000 760,000 640,000 Nordic combined 259,000 440,000 Ski jumping 370,000 440,000 Snowboarding 590,000 145,000 Speed skating 390,000 365,000 Total 963,000 1,140,000 1,185,000 1,820,000 5,108,000 4,053,000 x including ski maintenance, which contributes to biathlon and Nordic combined as well

Ban on rainbow nails

In August 2013, Helsingin Sanomat quoted the President of the Board of the Finnish Olympic Committee Risto Nieminen, that it is forbidding its athletes the rainbow-patterned fingernails in the upcoming games, ruling it political abuse of the Olympic Charter. The issue was raised after high-jumper Emma Green Tregaro displayed her rainbow nails and the Finnish Minister of Culture and Sport Paavo Arhinmäki waved the rainbow flag in the Moscow 2013 World Championships in Athletics in support of LGBT rights in Russia. Arhinmäki responded, that the Olympic movement should defend, not limit, the freedom of speech, and the Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade of Finland Alexander Stubb commented that the issue is about human rights, not politics, both bringing up the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute as one of the finest moments in Olympic history. The Committee followed up, that they were simply quoting the Charter, which bans political abuse, and themselves couldn't allow or disallow the nails.

Athlete prize bonuses

The Finnish Olympic Committee offers prize bonuses for medalists: €30,000 for gold, €15,000 for silver and €10,000 for bronze, where in team events the price has to be divided between athletes, with a cap of €60,000 per athlete. The exception is for an ice hockey medal where the bonus is €60,000 for gold, €40,000 for silver and €30,000 for bronze.

Budget

The cost of the games for the Finnish Olympic Committee is 1.2 million euros. About half of it, food and accommodation expenses, will be subsidised by the International Olympic Committee.

Finnish Olympic team

The Finnish Olympic team in Sochi consists of 226 people, of which 16 are the team's general leadership, 103 athletes, and 107 other staff members, such as coaches, masseurs, physiotherapists and physicians. + Competitors from Finland per sport excluding reserves Sport Men Women Total 2010 total Alpine skiing 3 1 4 4 Biathlon 2 2 4 4 Cross-country skiing 8 7 15 17 Figure skating 0 0 0 3 Freestyle skiing 10 0 10 4 Ice hockey 25 21 46 41 Nordic combined 4 4 4 Ski jumping 5 1 6 5 Snowboarding 8 3 11 5 Speed skating 3 0 3 4 Total 68 35 103 91

Athlete selection method

Athletes to the Olympic team are picked by the Elite Sports Unit of the Finnish Olympic Committee based on presentations by the national sports federations. The Unit is led by Mika Kojonkoski. It revised the selection from earlier games by creating a continuous method, where athletes are added as they display to fulfill requirements. The athletes are required to

based on their results in the current and previous season. The Committee considered the bar raised from the preceding games.

Schedule for selection publication: 30 October 2013: first 10 athletes nominated in alpine skiing, biathlon, freestyle skiing, snowboarding and speed skating 16 December 2013: 14 athletes nominated in cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping and snowboarding 18 December 2013: women's ice hockey team of 21 players nominated 7 January 2014: men's ice hockey team of 25 players nominated 13 January 2014: 8 athletes nominated in cross-country skiing and ski jumping 21 January 2014: 22 athletes nominated in biathlon, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, ski jumping and Nordic combined 27 January 2014: final 7 athletes nominated in alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding and speed skating

Appearance records

For Janne Ahonen and Teemu Selänne, 2014 will be their sixth Olympic games, tying them for the most Olympic appearances for Finns with Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi, Harri Kirvesniemi and Raimo Helminen. Selänne will be alongside Helminen the only ice hockey player with six appearances, Selänne already being the all-time Olympic point-leader.

Sports without participation by Finland Finland will not compete in bobsleigh, curling, figure skating, luge, short track speed skating and skeleton. For figure skating Finland has the 2nd stand-by entry for ladies' singles, 4th for ice dancing and 7th for men's singles. The entries may not be transferred after 27 January 2014. Finland failed to qualify the curling team at the Olympic qualification event.

Medal count predictions and expectations

The Finnish Olympic Committee set no official medal target.

An article published by International Associations of Sports Economists / North American Association of Sports Economists in 2011, using such parameters as population, political regime, snow coverage and winter sports facilities, predicted Finland to win 5 medals.

In a poll ordered by MTV3, a majority from a sample of 1,700 Finns in December 2013 expected Finland to win 2–4 medals, having best chances in snowboarding.

Infostrada Sports predicts that Finland will win one gold and five bronzes, broken down: in cross-country skiing: gold in women's team sprint and bronze in women's 4 × 5 kilometre relay in biathlon: bronze for Kaisa Mäkäräinen in women's pursuit and sprint in ice hockey: bronze in men's and women's tournament

Associated Press projected Finland to win two silvers and three bronzes, broken down: in biathlon: silver for Kaisa Mäkäräinen in women's pursuit and mass start in cross-country skiing: bronze in women's team sprint and 4 × 5 kilometre relay in ice hockey: bronze in women's tournament

Ilta-Sanomat expected certain Finnish medals as a top two finish in women's team sprint, a silver in women's 4 × 5 kilometre relay, a medal in women's ice hockey and possibly multiple medals for Kaisa Mäkäräinen.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, using regression analysis with such variables as gross domestic product and climate to estimate medal shares, predicted Finland to win 6 medals.

Alpine skiing

Finland has qualified a total quota of four athletes by the International Ski Federation (FIS), based on qualification points awarded in races within the FIS Calendar during the period of July 2012–19 January 2014. National quotas per each Olympic event were allocated according to points awarded in these competitions. Andreas Romar was initially selected to the Finnish Olympic team, but declared absent on January 10, 2014, following his heel fracture.

AthleteEventRun 1Run 2TotalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankSanteri PaloniemiMen's slalom49.5731Marcus SandellMen's giant slalomSamu Torsti1:23.59251:24.38=172:47.9721Tanja PoutiainenWomen's giant slalom1:20.12121:19.76212:39.88=14Women's slalom54.941353.07161:48.0112

Biathlon

Finland has qualified a total quota of four athletes by the International Biathlon Union (IBU), based on Nation Cup points won in 2012 and 2013 Biathlon World Championships during the qualification period of 16 November 2012 – 19 January 2014. There were no event-specific requirements.

AthleteEventTimeMissesRankJarkko KauppinenMen's sprint27:57.83 (2+1)78Men's individual5 (3+2)Ahti ToivanenMen's sprint26:58.62 (1+1)62Men's individual55:55.43 (1+1+1)56Mari LaukkanenWomen's sprint22:37.32 (0+2)36Women's pursuitWomen's individualKaisa MäkäräinenWomen's sprint22:18.42 (0+2)30Women's pursuit31:02.33 (0+0+2+1)16Women's individual46:02.53 (0+1+0+2)9Women's mass start36:27.12 (0+0+1+1)6

Cross-country skiing

Finland has awarded a total quota of seventeen athletes by International Ski Federation (FIS), based on qualification points awarded in races within the FIS Calendar during the period of July 2012–19 January 2014. National quotas per each Olympic event were allocated according to points awarded in these competitions.

Distance Men AthleteEventClassicalFreestyleFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeDeficitRankMatti Heikkinen15 km classicalcolspan=4 40:17.8 +1:48.12030 km skiathlon36:40.32334:39.248 1:11:52.6 +3:37.24050 km freestylecolspan=4 1:47:35.0 +39.815Sami Jauhojärvi15 km classicalcolspan=4 40:14.4 +1:44.71730 km skiathlon36:54.33133:46.8 36 1:11:12.0 +2:56.633Martti Jylhä50 km freestylecolspan=4 Lari Lehtonen30 km skiathlon37:30.84233:31.3 33 1:11:34.1 +3:18.73850 km freestylecolspan=4 1:47:48.7 +53.523Iivo Niskanen15 km classicalcolspan=4 39:08.7 +39.0430 km skiathlon36:42.32633:07.829 1:10:22.0 +2:06.62650 km freestylecolspan=4 1:47:27.5 +32.310Ville Nousiainen15 km classicalcolspan=4 40:52.6 +2:22.928Matti HeikkinenSami JauhojärviLari LehtonenIivo Niskanen4×10 km relaycolspan=4 1:30:28.4 +1:46.46

Women AthleteEventClassicalFreestyleFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeDeficitRankAnne Kyllönen10 km classicalcolspan=4 29:52.8 +1:35.0 1315 km skiathlon 19:30.3 11 21:12.9 47 41:18.9 +2:45.3 33Krista Lähteenmäki10 km classicalcolspan=4 29:36.0 +1:18.2 1015 km skiathlon 19:27.6 10 20:07.7 24 40:09.9 +1:36.3 1330 km freestylecolspan=4 1:13:37.6 +2:32.4 18Kerttu Niskanen10 km classicalcolspan=4 29:16.7 +58.9 815 km skiathlon 19:17.4 7 19:45.9 14 39:35.3 +1:01.7 730 km freestylecolspan=4 1:12:26.9 +1:21.7 4Riitta-Liisa Roponen30 km freestylecolspan=4 1:14:51.6 +3:46.4 26Aino-Kaisa Saarinen10 km classicalcolspan=4 28:48.1 +30.3 415 km skiathlon 19:12.4 5 19:02.3 5 38:48.9 +15.3 530 km freestylecolspan=4 1:13:52.5 +2:47.3 21Anne KyllönenKrista LähteenmäkiKerttu NiskanenAino-Kaisa Saarinen4×5 km relaycolspan=4 53:03.2 +0.5

Sprint Men AthleteEventQualificationQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankMartti JylhäSprint 3:34.49 12 Q 3:37.98 5did not advanceJuho Mikkonen 3:40.72 43did not advanceVille Nousiainen 3:37.52 25 Q 3:40.84 5did not advanceAnssi Pentsinen 3:38.66 34did not advanceSami JauhojärviIivo NiskanenTeam sprintcolspan=4 23:26.131 Q23:14.89

Women AthleteEventQualificationQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankAnne KyllönenSprint 2:35.57 11 Q 2:37.07 4did not advanceMona-Liisa Malvalehto 2:40.08 28 Q 2:41.20 6did not advanceMari Laukkanen 2:39.06 24 Q 2:37.48 3did not advanceRiikka Sarasoja-Lilja 2:41.55 37did not advanceKerttu NiskanenAino-Kaisa SaarinenTeam sprintcolspan=4 16:42.151 Q16:13.14

Freestyle skiing

Finland has awarded a total quota of 9 athletes (all in men's events) by the International Ski Federation (FIS), based on competitions in the International FIS Calendar during the qualification period of July 2012–19 January 2014. National quotas per each Olympic event were allocated according to points awarded in these competitions. On January 31, 2014, a fourth slopestyle spot was allocated to the team after a scheduling and calculation adjustment.

Halfpipe AthleteEventQualificationFinalRun 1Run 2BestRankRun 1Run 2BestRankAntti-Jussi KemppainenMen's halfpipe79.4060.4079.409 Q74.4078.2078.208

Moguls