Iida Karhunen
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.jpg) Karhunen at the 2026 Winter Olympics | ||||||
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 5 April 2008 | |||||
| Home town | Lappeenranta, Finland | |||||
| Height | 1.49 m (4 ft 11 in) | |||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||
| Country |  Finland | |||||
| Discipline | Women's singles | |||||
| Coach | Marina Shirshova | |||||
| Skating club | Lappeenrannan taitoluistelijat | |||||
| Began skating | 2010 | |||||
| Medal record | ||||||
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Iida Karhunen (born 5 April 2008) is a Finnish figure skater. She is the 2026 Finnish national champion, the 2026 Nordic champion, the 2025 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb silver medalist, and the 56th Volvo Open Cup champion.
At the junior level, she is the 2023 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival champion and a three-time Finnish junior national champion (2023–25).
Karhunen represented Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Karhunen was born on 5 April 2008 in Lappeenranta, Finland.[1] She has two older sisters, Laura and Henna, who are both former competitive figure skaters.[2]
Her figure skating idols include Kaori Sakamoto, Loena Hendrickx, Nathan Chen, and Ilia Malinin.[3][4]
Career
Early years
Karhunen began learning how to skate in 2010 at the age of two. Her early coaches included Elina Kutznetsova and Jacek Zylski.[5][2] Since the age of six or seven, Karhunen has been coached by Marina Shirshova.[3][6]
She made her international debut at the 2020 Mentor Toruń Cup as an advanced novice skater, winning the silver medal.[7]
2021–22 season: Junior debut
Karhunen made her junior international debut at the 2021 Volvo Open Cup, winning the gold medal. She subsequently followed this up with a fifth-place finish at the 2021 Santa Claus Cup. In December, she made her national debut at the 2022 Finnish Junior Championships, winning the bronze medal.[7]
The following month, Karhunen won gold at the 2022 Bavarian Open and silver at the 2022 Nordic Junior Championships. She then closed the season by winning gold at the 2022 Jégvirág Cup.[7]
2022–23 season: First Junior National title
Making her Junior Grand Prix series debut, Karhunen finished seventh at the 2022 JGP Poland and ninth at the 2022 JGP Italy. She then went on to win gold at the 2022 Volvo Open Cup and at the 2022 NRW Trophy. In December, she won her first junior national title at the 2023 Finnish Junior Championships.[7]
Assigned to compete at the 2023 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, Karhunen won the gold medal. She subsequently followed this up by winning gold at the 2023 Nordic Junior Championships.[7]
In late February, Karhunen competed at the 2023 World Junior Championships. She placed twenty-sixth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.[7]
2023–24 season
Karhunen started her season by competing on the 2023–24 Junior Grand Prix circuit, placing fifth at 2023 JGP Austria and seventh at the 2023 JGP Hungary. She then went on to win gold at the 2023 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur, at the 2023 Volvo Open Cup, and at the 2023 Tallinn Trophy.[7]
In December, she won the junior national title at the Finnish Junior Championships for a second consecutive time.[7]
Selected to compete at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea, Karhunen finished the event in eighth place. She then closed the season by finishing fourth at the 2024 World Junior Championships.[7]
2024–25 season
Karhunen began the season by competing on the 2024–25 Junior Grand Prix series, finishing fifth at the 2024 JGP Thailand and seventh at the 2024 JGP Slovenia. She then went on to win silver at the 2024 Volvo Open Cup. A couple weeks later, she competed at the 2024 Tallinn Trophy but withdrew before the free skate. She subsequently competed at the 2024 Bosphorus Cup, finishing in fourth place.[7]
At the 2025 Finnish Junior Championships, Karhunen won the national title for a third time.[7]
In January, she won the gold medal at the 2025 Volvo Open Cup. The following month, Karhunen finished the season by winning gold at the 2025 Nordic Junior Championships and finishing eleventh at the 2025 World Junior Championships.[7]
2025–26 season: Senior debut and Milano Cortina Olympics
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Moving up to the senior level, Karhunen opened her season on the 2025–26 ISU Challenger Series circuit, finishing sixth at the 2025 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and eighth at the 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy. She then followed these results up by winning gold at the 2025 Volvo Open Cup.[7]
In late November, she made her senior Grand Prix debut at the 2025 Finlandia Trophy, where she finished in sixth place. A couple weeks later, she won the silver medal at the 2025 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.[7]
Making her senior national debut at the 2026 Finnish Championships, Karhunen won the gold medal.[7]
Selected to compete at the 2026 European Championships in January, Karhunen placed sixteenth in the short program and seventh in the free skate, finishing tenth overall.[7] "Today I feel very happy," she said following her free skate. "Of course there were some mistakes, but I’m still happy. After the short program, I was very upset, but I think I learned a lot from this competition and it will help me for the future... My family helped me the most after the disappointment. One of my sisters and one of my parents are here, and one sister is back in Finland, but that was very good support."[8] Karhunen was subsequently named to the 2026 Winter Olympic team.[9] The following week, Karhunen won the 2026 Nordic Championships.[7]
On 17 February, Karhunen competed in the short program segment at the 2026 Winter Olympics, finishing in fifteenth place. "I'm feeling very great," she shared after her performance. "It was fun to skate, and I really enjoyed it... I felt really relaxed. I don't know why. I was feeling very chill today. My whole family was there watching, both my sisters and parents."[10] Two days later, she placed seventeenth in the free skate segment and finished in sixteenth place overall, garnering personal best scores in both the short program and the free skate.[7] She was subsequently named as the flag bearer for Finland for the Olympic closing ceremony.[11]
The following month, Karhunen competed at the 2026 World Championships in Prague where she placed fourteenth overall after finishing fourteenth in the short program and thirteenth in the free skate.[12] She shared her feelings after the Olympic season, "I’m relieved and happy. It was a little bit of a tough season. My highlight was, of course, the Olympics, but also Nationals, that I was able to perform well there under pressure." Subsequently sharing her future plans, "Next week I will rest a little bit, and then I will start working on my new program. I will probably try a new choreographer. I already have some plans, but you will see."[13]
Programs
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–2026 [1] |
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| 2024–2025 [14] |
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| 2023–2024 [15] |
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| 2022–2023 [16] |
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| 2021–2022 [5] |
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