Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The athletes were named in four selections: first took place on December 19, 2007, 2nd on April 16, 3rd on May 20 and 4th on July 21, 2008. The goal of the Finnish Olympic team in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games was three medals with at least one gold medal. Shooter

Juha Hirvi Juha Hirvi (born 25 March 1960 in Kymi, Finland, Kymi) is a Finland, Finnish shooting sports, sport shooter. He won the silver medal in Shooting at the 2000 Summer Olympics, men's 50 metre rifle three positions at the 2000 Summer Olympics ...

and dressage rider

Kyra Kyrklund Kyra Marie Christine Kyrklund (born 30 November 1951 in Helsinki) is a Finnish dressage rider and trainer who currently lives in West Sussex. In 1991 she and "Matador II" won the World Cup Finals in Paris. She has competed in six Olympics ...

made Finnish olympic history by participating in their sixth Olympic Games. They shared the record with three winter Olympians: cross-country skiers

Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi (née Hämäläinen; born 10 September 1955) is a Finnish former cross-country skier. Career She was the big figure at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, winning all three individual cross-country skiing events (5, 10 and 20 ...

and

Harri Kirvesniemi Harri Tapani Kirvesniemi (born 10 May 1958, in Mikkeli) is a Finnish former cross-country skier who competed from 1980 to 2001. During his career he won six Olympic medals (all bronzes), and also the 50 km event at the Holmenkollen ski festi ...

and ice hockey player

Raimo Helminen Raimo Ilmari Helminen (born 11 March 1964 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He is often called "Raipe" or "Maestro" by his fans. He is the world record holder for most international games played by a hockey p ...

Medalists

;Notes * Satu Mäkelä-Nummela's victory in women's trap was Finland's first ever gold medal in shotgun events at the Olympic Games. She became the third Finnish female athlete to win gold at the Summer Olympics, after

Sylvi Saimo Sylvi Riitta Saimo (née ''Sikiö'', 12 November 1914 – 12 March 2004) was a Finnish sprint canoeist, farmer and politician. She was the first female Finnish Olympic Champion at the Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in K-1 500 m at the 195 ...

and

Heli Rantanen Heli Rantanen (born 26 February 1970) is a retired Finnish track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. She was an Olympic Champion, having won gold in 1996. Her winning throw of 67.94 m was more than two metres ahead of the silve ...

. * Minna Nieminen's and

Sanna Stén Sanna Stén (born 20 May 1977 in Lohja) is a Finnish rower. She won a silver medal in the women's lightweight double sculls at the 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () an ...

's silver medal in lightweight double sculls is Finland's first Olympic medal in rowing since 1984, when

Pertti Karppinen Pertti Johannes Karppinen (born 17 February 1953) is a retired Finnish rower noted for his three consecutive Olympic gold medals in single sculls in 1976, 1980 and 1984. Biography Karppinen won the world titles in 1979 and 1985 and once held th ...

won the last of his three consecutive Olympic gold medals.

Archery

Athletics

;Men ;Track & road events ;Field events ;Combined events –

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

;Women ;Field events ;Combined events –

Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

* The athlete who finished in second place,

Lyudmila Blonska Lyudmyla Leonidivna Blonska, née Shevchuk ( uk, Людмила Леонідівна Блонська (Шевчук)), sometimes known as Lyudmila Blonskaya, (born November 9, 1977) is a Ukrainian former heptathlete, pentathlete, and long jumper. ...

of the

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, tested positive for a banned substance. Both the A and the B tests were positive, therefore Blonska was stripped of her silver medal, and Kelo moved up a position.

Badminton

Canoeing

Sprint

Qualification Legend: QS = Qualify to semi-final; QF = Qualify directly to final

Diving

Equestrian

Dressage

Judo

Rowing

;Women Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Sailing

;Men ;Women ;Open M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race; CAN = Race cancelled;

Shooting

;Men ;Women

Swimming

;Men ;Women

Tennis

;Men

Weightlifting

Wrestling

;Men's Greco-Roman

References

External links

Finnish Team for Beijing 2008
{{Nations at the 2008 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...