Finland at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Finland competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The nation has competed at every Summer Olympic Games since its official debut in 1908. The Finnish Olympic Committee (Finnish: Suomen Olympiakomitea, SO) sent a total of 56 athletes to the Games, 29 men and 27 women, to compete in 14 sports. There was only a single competitor in artistic gymnastics, taekwondo, weightlifting and tennis.

Finland at the 2012 Summer Olympics
IOC code	FIN
NOC	Finnish Olympic Committee
Website	sport.fi/olympiakomitea (in Finnish and Swedish)
in London
Competitors	56 in 14 sports
Flag bearers	Hanna-Maria Seppälä (opening) Antti Ruuskanen (closing)
Medals Ranked 60th	Gold 0 Silver 2 Bronze 1 Total 3
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Notable Finnish athletes included the defending champion Satu Mäkelä-Nummela in women's trap shooting, and Olympic bronze medalist Tero Pitkämäki in men's javelin throw. Badminton player Anu Nieminen, and swimmer Hanna-Maria Seppälä, who finished fourth in the women's freestyle event, made their fourth Olympic appearance as the most experienced athletes. Seppälä also became Finland's first female flag bearer at the Summer Olympics' opening ceremony (in the Winter Olympics, Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi had carried the Finnish flag in 1994).

Suomen Olympiakomitea (SO) set a goal of three medals, with at least one gold medal and six point positions in eighth-place finish, to be targeted in the medal standings.^[1] At the end of the Games, Finland already had three medals, but reached beyond the medal target by a single point.

Finland, however, left London with two silvers and one bronze medal in sailing and athletics, failing to win a gold medal for the second time in Summer Olympic history since 2004. Antti Ruuskanen only received his silver medal in 2017, due to doping by the original silver medalist Oleksandr Pyatnytsya from Ukraine. Several Finnish athletes who reached finals missed out on the medal standings including Pitkämäki, and taekwondo jin Suvi Mikkonen.

Medalists

Medals by sport
Sport				Total
Sailing	0	1	1	2
Athletics	0	1	0	1
Total	0	2	1	3

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Silver	Tuuli Petäjä	Sailing	Women's sailboard	7 August
Silver	Antti Ruuskanen	Athletics	Men's javelin throw	11 August
Bronze	Silja Kanerva Silja Lehtinen Mikaela Wulff	Sailing	Elliott 6m	11 August

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Finnish athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard):^[2][3]

Key

• Note – Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Jussi Utriainen in men's marathon

Javelin throw men's medal ceremony, Antti Ruuskanen in second place

Leena Puotiniemi in women's marathon

Men

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Jonathan Åstrand	200 m	20.73	5	Did not advance
Antti Kempas	50 km walk	—				4:01:50	41
Jukka Keskisalo	3000 m steeplechase	8:29.13	4 Q	—		DNF
Jarkko Kinnunen	50 km walk	—				3:46:25	15
Niclas Sandells	1500 m	3:42.67	11	Did not advance
Jussi Utriainen	Marathon	—				2:26:25	69

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Jere Bergius	Pole vault	NM	—	Did not advance
Ari Mannio	Javelin throw	81.99	8 q	78.60	11
Tero Pitkämäki		83.01	3 Q	82.80	5
Antti Ruuskanen		81.74	11 q	84.12
David Söderberg	Hammer throw	71.76	26	Did not advance
Osku Torro	High jump	2.21	=16	Did not advance

Women

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Sandra Eriksson	3000 m steeplechase	9:50.71	8	Did not advance
Anne Halkivaha	20 km walk	—		1:38:49	54
Leena Puotiniemi	Marathon	—		2:42:01	87

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Minna Nikkanen	Pole vault	4.25	=26	Did not advance
Sanni Utriainen	Javelin throw	NM	—	Did not advance

Badminton

Main article: Badminton at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Group Stage			Elimination	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Ville Lång	Men's singles	Lee C W (MAS) L 8–21, 21–14, 11–21	—	2	Did not advance
Anu Nieminen	Women's singles	Montero (MEX) W 21–12, 21–18	Tai T-y (TPE) L 11–21, 14–21	2	Did not advance

Canoeing

Main article: Canoeing at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Sprint

Athlete	Event	Heats		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Jenni Mikkonen	Women's K-1 200 m	42.656	3 Q	41.859	4 FB	44.643	9
Anne Rikala	Women's K-1 500 m	1:52.641	1 Q	1:51.852	3 FA	1:54.333	8

Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Pia Sundstedt finished eleventh in women's time trial

Road

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Jussi Veikkanen	Men's road race	5:46:37	65
Pia Sundstedt	Women's road race	3:35:56	20
	Women's time trial	40:01.69	11

Equestrian

Main article: Equestrian at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Dressage

Athlete	Horse	Event	Grand Prix		Grand Prix Special		Grand Prix Freestyle		Overall
			Score	Rank	Score	Rank	Technical	Artistic	Score	Rank
Emma Kanerva	Sini Spirit	Individual	70.395	29 Q	71.889	22	Did not advance
Mikaela Lindh	Mas Guapo		70.729	26 Q	69.016	30	Did not advance

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Artistic

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification						Final
		Apparatus				Total	Rank	Apparatus				Total	Rank
		F	V	UB	BB			F	V	UB	BB
Annika Urvikko	All-around	13.200	12.416	10.933	12.266	48.815	55	Did not advance

Judo

Main article: Judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Valtteri Jokinen	Men's −60 kg	Bye	Moudatir (MAR) W 0100–0000	Choi G-H (KOR) L 0000–0010	Did not advance
Jaana Sundberg	Women's −52 kg	—	Kelmendi (ALB) L 0001–0110	Did not advance
Johanna Ylinen	Women's −63 kg	—	Bye	Tsedevsuren (MGL) L 0000–1000	Did not advance

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Finland has qualified 1 boat for each of the following events

Men

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Mattias Lindfors	Laser	25	28	23	30	36	22	20	42	39	40	EL	263	33
Tapio Nirkko	Finn	11	13	8	5	3	12	4	5	15	17	16	92	10
Joonas Lindgren Niklas Lindgren	470	22	19	22	17	12	15	26	21	21	18	EL	167	21

Women

Athlete	Event	Race											Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	M*
Tuuli Petäjä	RS:X	8	7	3	4	4	4	8	2	5	1	4	46
Sari Multala	Laser Radial	4	6	15	4	19	21	3	2	16	5	20	94	7

Match racing

Athlete	Event	Round Robin											Rank	Knockouts			Rank
		AUS	POR	SWE	NED	USA	GBR	ESP	DEN	RUS	NZL	FRA		Q-final	S-final	Final
Silja Kanerva Silja Lehtinen Mikaela Wulff	Elliott 6m	L	W	W	L	L	L	W	W	L	W	W	5 Q	USA W (3–1)	AUS L (1–2)	RUS W (3–1)

Open

Athlete	Event	Race																Net points	Final rank
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	M*
Kalle Bask Lauri Lehtinen	49er	19	18	4	11	6	8	2	2	1	11	3	11	19	11	2	20	129	7

M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race;

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Finland has earned four quota places in shooting events;^[4]

Men

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Kai Jahnsson	50 m pistol	552	26	Did not advance
	10 m air pistol	583	7 Q	96.1	8

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Satu Mäkelä-Nummela	Trap	70	7	Did not advance
Mira Suhonen	10 m air pistol	377	32	Did not advance
Marjo Yli-Kiikka	50 m rifle 3 positions	578	23	Did not advance
	10 m air rifle	365	16	Did not advance

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Finnish swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):^[5][6]

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Matias Koski	200 m freestyle	1:49.84	31	Did not advance
	400 m freestyle	3:54.96	22	—		Did not advance
	1500 m freestyle	15:34.80	27	—		Did not advance
Ari-Pekka Liukkonen	50 m freestyle	22.57	25	Did not advance
Matti Mattsson	200 m breaststroke	2:11.81 NR	17	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Jenna Laukkanen	100 m breaststroke	1:09.92	34	Did not advance
	200 m breaststroke	2:31.23	32	Did not advance
Noora Laukkanen	400 m individual medley	4:53.54	33	—		Did not advance
Emilia Pikkarainen	100 m butterfly	59.55	29	Did not advance
	200 m butterfly	2:13.81	27	Did not advance
	200 m individual medley	2:17.66	33	Did not advance
Hanna-Maria Seppälä	50 m freestyle	25.55	26	Did not advance
	100 m freestyle	54.93	18	Did not advance
	200 m freestyle	2:04.21	33	Did not advance

Taekwondo

Main article: Taekwondo at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Finland has qualified 1 athlete.

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Repechage	Bronze Medal	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Suvi Mikkonen	Women's −57 kg	Diedhiou (SEN) W 9–6	Hou Yz (CHN) L 2–7	Did not advance	Lopez (USA) W 9–4	Tseng L-C (TPE) L 2–14	Did not advance	5

Tennis

Main article: Tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Jarkko Nieminen witnessed his action in men's singles.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Jarkko Nieminen	Men's singles	Devvarman (IND) W 6–3, 6–1	Murray (GBR) L 2–6, 4–6	Did not advance

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Miika Antti-Roiko	Men's −94 kg	140	=17	180	=17	320	19

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Finland has qualified two quota places.

Key

• VT - Victory by Fall.
• PP - Decision by Points - the loser with technical points.
• PO - Decision by Points - the loser without technical points.

Men's Greco-Roman

Athlete	Event	Qualification	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Repechage 1	Repechage 2	Final / BM
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Jarkko Ala-Huikku	−60 kg	Bye	Belmadani (FRA) L 0–3 PO	Did not advance					16
Rami Hietaniemi	−84 kg	Bye	Noumonvi (FRA) L 0–3 PO	Did not advance					15