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 Athle ...

. He won the 3000 m steeplechase at the

2006 European Championships in Athletics The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Champio ...

in Gothenburg 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. ...

Pohjois-Savo North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the ...

, 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 between ...

, 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. ...

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

. 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 , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

with his new record time 8:16.74. Later, Keskisalo was voted

Finnish Sportspersonality of the year The Finnish Sportspersonality of the Year is chosen annually since 1947 by the national sports journalists. In addition, the best female athlete was nominated each year until 2009. Winners Men Women See also * Finnish Footballer of the Y ...

, 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 Ol ...

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 eleve ...

. 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 Risto Ilmari Ulmala (born 7 May 1963 in Helsinki) is a Finnish former long-distance runner. Risto Ulmala's best achievement was 7th place in 5000 meters at World Championships 1991. In European Athletics Championships he was 6th in 5000&nbs ...

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 Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

; 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 The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and f ...

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word ...

. 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 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 ...

. Keskisalo split from coach Ulmala after the 2009 season. His new coach

Ismo Hämäläinen Ismo may refer to: * -ism in Spanish, Portuguese, Esperanto and Italian * Ismo, a brand name for isosorbide mononitrate * Ismo Leikola Ismo Mikael Leikola (born 22 January 1979), sometimes known professionally as ISMO, is a Finland, Finnish stand ...

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