Jukka Pekka Sakari Keskisalo (born 27 March 1981) is a

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 ...

athlete competing in 3000 m

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

and

1500 m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

. He won the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

and was also an Olympian in 2012.

Biography

Background

Born in

Varkaus Varkaus (before year 1929 ''Warkaus'') is a Middle- Savonian industrial town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region, between city of Kuopio and town of Savonlinna. T ...

Pohjois-Savo North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geograph ...

, Keskisalo took a medal in the junior race at the

Nordic Cross Country Championships The Nordic Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition that is contested between the Nordic countries. The championships are generally held in mid-November and the host nation rotates every year betwee ...

, winning the bronze in 2000.

Senior athletics career

2000s

Keskisalo finished ninth at the

2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. Men's results ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

with his then personal best time, 8:17.72. The next two seasons were hampered by injuries, but he made a strong comeback in 2006 by taking surprise gold at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics. He ran a tactical race, taking advantage of a slow early pace and staying at the rear of the field until the last 500 metres, when he sprinted and overtook the other competitors one by one. Less than a week after the European Championships, Keskisalo placed fourth at the Golden League meet in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

with his new record time 8:16.74. Later, Keskisalo was voted Finnish Sportspersonality of the year, ahead of

Tanja Poutiainen Tanja Tuulia Poutiainen (born 6 April 1980) is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from Finland. She specialized in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom, and was the silver medalist in the women's giant slalom at the 2006 Winter ...

and

Tero Pitkämäki Tero Kristian Pitkämäki (born 19 December 1982) is a Finnish retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World Champion, having won gold in 2007. His personal best throw of 91.53 m, set in 2005, ranks him elev ...

. In 2007 Keskisalo suffered from injuries again. In 2008 he competed for a place in and was selected for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, however he injured just a few days before his event and was not able to compete. Later in the autumn it was announced that Risto Ulmala would replace

Tommy Ekblom Tommy Uolevi Ekblom (born 20 September 1959 in Porvoo)World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

; first a time of 8:15.59 when finishing third at the Golden League event

Meeting Areva Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamon ...

, and later a time of 8:12.93 at the

Super Grand Prix The IAAF Super Grand Prix was an annual series of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Over the competition's history, a total of nine different meetings were part of the ...

event

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. World records Over the course of its history, five world reco ...

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. At the World Championships steeplechase final Keskisalo achieved his best result at the global level when finishing eighth with a time of 8:14.47. On 28 August Keskisalo finally broke

Tapio Kantanen Tapio Kantanen (born 31 May 1949) is a Finnish former athlete who mainly competed in the 3,000 metre steeple chase. He competed for Finland at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany where he won the bronze medal in the 3,000 metres s ...

's 33 years old Finnish record when finishing sixth in a time of 8:10.67 in

Weltklasse Zürich Weltklasse Zürich ( en, World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF G ...

. Keskisalo split from coach Ulmala after the 2009 season. His new coach Ismo Hämäläinen was announced in October 2009. Hämäläinen is more known from cross country skiing and had coached Germany in sprint skiing shortly before.

2010s

In 2012 Keskisalo was able to compete at the Olympics but did not finish the steeplechase final.

References

External links

*
Tilastopaja profile for Jukka Keskisalo (in Finnish)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keskisalo, Jukka 1981 births Living people People from Varkaus Finnish male middle-distance runners Finnish male long-distance runners Finnish male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of Finland Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Sportspeople from North Savo