Jay Hakkinen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kasilof, Alaska,
United States
 Jay Hakkinen in 2012 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jay William Hakkinen | ||||||||||||||
| Born | July 19, 1977 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
| |||||||||||||||
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]
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
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]
