Panu Oula Jääskeläinen (born 8 March 1969) is a Finnish former competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. He is the 1992

Piruetten Piruetten was a senior international figure skating competition held in Hamar, Norway. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dance. It later became a junior event held in some years as part of the ISU Junior Grand Prix ...

silver medalist, a two-time Nordic bronze medalist, and a five-time Finnish national champion. He represented Finland at the

1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...

Personal life

Jääskeläinen was born on 8 March 1969 in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Finland. His sister, Anu Oksanen (née Jääskeläinen), is the head coach for the

synchronized skating Synchronized skating, often called synchro, is an ice skating sport where between 8 and 20 skaters perform together as a team. They move as a flowing unit at high speed over the ice, while performing elements and footwork. This complex sport orig ...

team Marigold IceUnity, who are multiple

world champions 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 ...

Career

Jääskeläinen was sent to ten European Championships from 1985 to 1994, achieving his best result, eighth, at the 1993 event in Helsinki. He also competed at nine World Championships and reached his highest placement, 12th, at the 1991 event in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

.Skatabase: 1990s Worlds
Jääskeläinen was selected to represent Finland at the

Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...

and finished 19th. During his career, he trained at the Mariposa School of Skating in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Jääskeläinen retired from competition in 1994 and then joined an ice show in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, England. He also appeared on Strictly Ice Dancing, partnering with celebrity

Carol Smillie Carol Patricia Smillie (born 23 December 1961) is a Scottish former television presenter, actress and model. Smillie became famous as a presenter on British TV during the 1990s and early 2000s. She was best known for assisting Nicky Campbell on ...

. He began coaching in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, in around 2006 or 2007.

Results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaaskelainen, Oula Finnish male single skaters Olympic figure skaters for Finland Figure skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Living people 1969 births Sportspeople from Espoo Finnish expatriates in South Africa 20th-century Finnish sportsmen