Valentin Kononen (born 7 March 1969 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

) 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 ...

former

race walker Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Referee, Race judges careful ...

. His competitive accomplishments include winning several medals in major competitions, which ranks him as one of the top Finnish performer in his sport. Kononen's most notable achievement was winning a gold medal in the

1995 World Championships in Athletics The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden on 5–13 August 1995. This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nat ...

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 ...

. He also won silver medals in the 1993 World Championships in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

and the 1998 European Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Fastest 50km race results

* 3.39.34 (1)

Dudince Dudince (before 1927 ''Ďudince'', hu, Gyűgy, rarely german: Dudintze) is a spa town in southern Slovakia. It is the smallest town in Slovakia with only a population of around 1,400. It is known for its mineral water, hot springs and destination ...

March 26, 2000 * 3.41.09 (3) Podebrady April 20, 1997 (World Race Walking Cup) * 3.42.02 (2) Stuttgart August 21, 1993 (World Championships) * 3.42.50 (3)

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 ...

April 30, 1995 * 3.43.42 (1) Gothenburg August 11, 1995 * 3.44.28 (2) Budapest August 21, 1998 (European Championships) * 3.45.19 (2)

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

April 28, 1996 * 3.47.14 (7) Helsinki August 13, 1994 (European Championships) * 3.47.40 (7)

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

August 2, 1996 (

Olympic Games 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 ...

) * 3.48.50 (9) Dudince April 25, 1998

Achievements

References

*
1969 births Living people Athletes from Helsinki Finnish male racewalkers Olympic athletes of Finland Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners {{finland-athletics-bio-stub