Eero_Mäntyranta

Eero Mäntyranta

Eero Mäntyranta

Finnish cross-country skier

Eero Antero Mäntyranta (20 November 1937 – 29 December 2013[1]) was one of the most successful Finnish cross-country skiers. He competed in four Winter Olympics (1960–1972) winning seven medals at three of them. His performance at the 1964 Winter Olympics earned him the nickname "Mister Seefeld", referring to the venue where the cross-country skiing and biathlon competitions took place.[2] The Finnish Ministry of Education endowed him with the Pro Urheilu letter of recognition in 2000. There is also a museum centered on Mäntyranta in his birthplace of Pello.

Quick Facts Full name, Born ...

Genetics and doping

Mäntyranta had primary familial and congenital polycythemia (PFCP) causing an increase in red blood cell mass and hemoglobin due to a mutation in the erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) gene, which was identified following a DNA study that found the mutation in a high proportion of members of his extended family, as reported in 1993.[3] The elevated hematocrit caused by the condition increases the ability of the blood to transport oxygen; the EPOR mutation is speculated to have contributed to Mäntyranta's remarkable endurance.[2][4]

In 1972 Mäntyranta tested positive for amphetamine at a Finnish competition, becoming the first of his countrymen known to be caught doping.[2] He later admitted taking hormones, which were not yet prohibited.[2]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[5]

Olympic Games

  • 7 medals – (3 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)
More information Year, Age ...

World Championships

  • 5 medals – (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
More information Year, Age ...

Accomplishments

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Skiing legend Eero Mäntyranta dead at 76. yle.fi. 30 December 2013
  2. [2]
    Eero Mäntyranta Archived 9 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
  3. [3]
    de la Chapelle. A; Traskelin AL; Juvonen E. (1993). "Truncated erythropoietin receptor causes dominantly inherited benign human erythrocytosis". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 90 (10): 4495–9. Bibcode:1993PNAS...90.4495D. doi:10.1073/pnas.90.10.4495. PMC 46538. PMID 8506290.
  4. [4]
    Interview with Malcolm Gladwell. The Guardian. 29 September 2013
  5. [5]
    "MAENTYRANTA Eero". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 19 January 2020.

Media related to Eero Mäntyranta at Wikimedia Commons
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Eero_Mäntyranta, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.