Eero Antero Mäntyranta (20 November 1937 – 29 December 2013) was one of the most successful
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
cross-country skiers. He competed in four
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
(1960–1972) winning seven medals at three of them. His performance at the
1964 Winter Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games (german: IX. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 ( bar, Innschbruck 1964, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a winter multi-sport event which was celebr ...
earned him the nickname "Mister Seefeld", referring to the venue where the cross-country skiing and
biathlon
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not time ...
competitions took place.
[Eero Mäntyranta]
. sports-reference.com The Finnish Ministry of Education endowed him with the Pro Urheilu letter of recognition in 2000. There is also a museum centered on Mäntyranta in his birthplace of
Pello
Pello (formerly Turtola) is a municipality of Finland. It is located approximately north of the Arctic Circle in the western part of the province of Lapland, and is part of the Lapland region. The municipality is on the national border with Sw ...
.
Genetics and doping
Mäntyranta had
primary familial and congenital polycythemia (PFCP) causing an increase in red blood cell mass and
hemoglobin
Hemoglobin (haemoglobin BrE) (from the Greek word αἷμα, ''haîma'' 'blood' + Latin ''globus'' 'ball, sphere' + ''-in'') (), abbreviated Hb or Hgb, is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythroc ...
due to a mutation in the
erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) gene, which was identified following a
DNA study that found the mutation in a high proportion of members of his extended family, as reported in 1993. The elevated
hematocrit
The hematocrit () (Ht or HCT), also known by several other names, is the volume percentage (vol%) of red blood cells (RBCs) in blood, measured as part of a blood test. The measurement depends on the number and size of red blood cells. It is norm ...
caused by the condition increases the ability of the blood to transport oxygen; the EPOR mutation is speculated to have contributed to Mäntyranta's remarkable endurance.
[ Interview with Malcolm Gladwell]
The Guardian. 29 September 2013
In 1972 Mäntyranta tested positive for
amphetamine
Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...
at a Finnish competition, becoming the first of his countrymen known to be caught
doping.
He later admitted taking
hormones
A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required ...
, which were not yet prohibited.
Cross-country skiing results
All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Olympic Games
* 7 medals – (3 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)
World Championships
* 5 medals – (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
Accomplishments
* National domestic championships: five gold, two silver and two bronze
* Holmenkollen ski festival championships first place 1962, 1964 and 1968 (15 km)
* Holmenkollen medal in 1964 (Shared with Veikko Kankkonen, Georg Thoma
Georg Thoma (; born 20 August 1937) is a retired German Nordic combined skier and ski jumper. He won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics, becoming the first non-Scandinavian athlete to do so, and was voted German Sportsman of the Year. At the 196 ...
, and Halvor Næs.).
* Salpausselkä
Salpausselkä (; "Bar Ridge") is an extensive ridge system left by the ice age in Southern Finland. It is a large terminal moraine formation that formed in front of the Baltic ice lake during the Younger Dryas period about 12,250–10,400 years ...
games win 1964 and 1972.
See also
* Athletes of Finland
*Olympic Athletes of Finland
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
References
External links
*
Holmenkollen medalists
– click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file
Holmenkollen winners since 1892
– click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mantyranta, Eero
1937 births
2013 deaths
People from Pello
Cross-country skiers at the 1960 Winter Olympics
Cross-country skiers at the 1964 Winter Olympics
Cross-country skiers at the 1968 Winter Olympics
Cross-country skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics
Doping cases in cross-country skiing
Finnish male cross-country skiers
Finnish sportspeople in doping cases
Holmenkollen medalists
Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners
Olympic gold medalists for Finland
Olympic silver medalists for Finland
Olympic bronze medalists for Finland
Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing
Olympic cross-country skiers of Finland
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing
Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 1964 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics
Sportspeople from Lapland (Finland)