Jay Hakkinen

American biathlete

Jay Hakkinen

Jay Hakkinen in 2012

Personal information
Full name| Jay William Hakkinen
Born|  (1977-07-19) July 19, 1977 (age 48)
Kasilof, Alaska,
United States
Height| 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Professional information
Sport| Biathlon
World Cup debut| March 11, 1995
Olympic Games
Teams| 4 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010)
Medals| 0
World Championships
Teams| 14 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012)
Medals| 0
World Cup
Seasons| 18 (1994/95,
1996/97–2012/13)
All victories| 0
All podiums| 0

Medal record

Men's biathlon
Representing  United States
Junior World Championships
| 1997 Forni Avoltri | 10 km sprint

Jay William Hakkinen (born July 19, 1977) is a former biathlete. He is a four-time American Olympian, and his 10th-place finish in the 20-kilometer individual race at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy was the best finish ever by an American biathlete.[1]

Hakkinen retired from the sport at the end of the 2013–14 season.[2]

## Background

[edit]

At the age of three, Hakkinen learned how to skate. Soon after, he picked up cross-country skiing, where he won the Junior 5 km freestyle. He got involved in biathlon when in 1994, he went for a year to a Norwegian town in a student exchange program.[3] His host parents were able to arrange for him to trade with a local biathlon club. Within three years of returning home to Alaska, he was the Junior World Champion of biathlon.[3]

## Performance in Turin

[edit]

Hakkinen placed 10th in the 20-kilometer individual race at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He had the 2nd fastest skiing time of anyone in the competition, but failed to medal because of penalties he earned while shooting.[1][4] He vowed to medal in his next event, but instead missed all five targets and fell quickly out of contention.[5] Hakkinen was the lead biathlete for the United States in the relay, and was in first place when he handed off to his teammate; ultimately, however, the United States finished in 9th in the relay.[6]

## Biathlon results

[edit]

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.[7]

### Olympic Games

[edit]

Event  | Individual  | Sprint  | Pursuit  | Mass start | Relay

|
|
|
|
|

1998 Nagano | 42nd  | 60th  | —  | —  | 17th
2002 Salt Lake City | 26th  | 26th  | 13th  | —  | 15th
2006 Turin | 10th  | 78th  | —  | 13th  | 9th
2010 Vancouver | 76th  | 54th  | 57th  | —  | 13th

*Pursuit was added as an event in 2002, with mass start being added in 2006.

### World Championships

[edit]

Event  | Individual  | Sprint  | Pursuit  | Mass start | Team  | Relay  | Mixed relay

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1997 Brezno-Osrblie | 37th  | —  | —  | —  | 14th  | 20th  | —
1998 Pokljuka | —  | —  | 39th  | —  | 10th  | —  | —
1999 Kontiolahti | 48th  | 16th  | 24th  | 18th  | —  | 18th  | —
2000 Oslo Holmenkollen | 31st  | 32nd  | 30th  | —  | —  | 16th  | —
2001 Pokljuka | 39th  | 31st  | 41st  | —  | —  | —  | —
2003 Khanty-Mansiysk | —  | 47th  | 51st  | —  | —  | 17th  | —
2004 Oberhof | 70th  | 47th  | LAP  | —  | —  | 18th  | —
2005 Hochfilzen | 69th  | 18th  | 23rd  | —  | —  | —  | DNS
2006 Pokljuka | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | 18th
2007 Antholz-Anterselva | 31st  | 38th  | 18th  | 9th  | —  | 9th  | —
2008 Östersund | —  | 89th  | —  | —  | —  | 15th  | —
2009 Pyeongchang | DNF  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —  | —
2011 Khanty-Mansiysk | 80th  | 42nd  | 35th  | —  | —  | 6th  | 13th
2012 Ruhpolding | 31st  | 91st  | —  | —  | —  | 10th  | —

*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
**Team was removed as an event in 1998, and mass start was added in 1999 with the mixed relay being added in 2005.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Dure, Beau (February 9, 2010). "Improved U.S. team targets increased exposure". USA Today. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
2. ^ Little, Chelsea (May 16, 2014). "Biathlete on the Rise, Smith Earns National Team Nomination as U.S. Builds for Future". FasterSkier. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
3. ^ a b "Jay Hakkinen Bio". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on January 31, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
4. ^ Boeck, Greg (February 11, 2006). "USA's Hakkinen skies well, ends a shot short of bronze". USA Today. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
5. ^ "American way off-target in quest for biathlon medal". Associated Press. February 14, 2006. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
6. ^ "Germany wins biathlon relay; U.S. briefly in first". USA Today. February 21, 2006. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
7. ^ "Jay Hakkinen". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Jay Hakkinen at IBU BiathlonWorld.com
* Jay Hakkinen at IBU BiathlonResults.com
* Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jay Hakkinen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016.
* NBCOlympics.com – Athletes – Jay Hakkinen Bio Archived May 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
* Jay Hakkinen's U.S. Olympic Team bio Archived March 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
* Jay Hakkinen at IBU
* Jay Hakkinen at Olympedia