Sport | Speed Skating | |
FederationID | SSFIN11509199801 | |
NOC | Finland | |
Born | 15 Sep 1998
in ![]() | |
Gender | Men |
Occupation | Student | |
Languages | English, Finnish, Swedish | |
Residence | Helsinki, FIN | |
Higher education | Economics, Finance - Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences: Helsinki, FIN |
Personal Bests | Event | Record | Date | Location | ||
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Personal Bests | ||||||
Event | Record | Date | Location | |||
500m | 35.27 | 09 Mar 2018 | ![]() |
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1000m | 1:09.21 | 10 Mar 2018 | ![]() |
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1500m | 1:46.45 | 27 Jan 2024 | ![]() |
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5000m | 6:44.98 | 30 Sep 2023 | ![]() |
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10000m | 16:02.11 | 05 Mar 2023 | ![]() |
Club / Team | Helsingin Luistinkiitajat: Helsinki, FIN | |
Name of coach | Janne Hanninen [national], FIN |
www.facebook.com/samuli.suomalainen.9 |
Memorable sporting achievement | Placing third in the 500m at the 2017 Junior World Cup events in Collalbo, Italy, and Inzell, Germany. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023) |
Reason for choosing this sport | He followed in the footsteps of his brother. "My mother told me to go and try it to see if I liked it." |
Most influential person in career | His parents. (Athlete, 17 Nov 2023) | |
Hero / Idol | Finnish ice hockey player Teemu Selanne. (Athlete, 14 Nov 2019) |
When and where did you begin this sport? | He began skating at age 10 at Oulunkyla Ice Rink in Helsinki, Finland. |
Sporting philosophy / motto | "Getting to the top of the world requires hard work every day, strict adherence to the training programme and faith in what you are doing." (yle.fi, 21 Jan 2021) | |
Famous relatives | His younger brother Joona Suomalainen has represented Finland in speed skating at junior level, and competed at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Baselga di Pine, Italy. (SportsDeskOnline, 20 Jan 2021; luisteluliitto.fi, 26 Jan 2019) | |
Injuries | He underwent a surgical procedure in November 2021. He returned to competition the following month for the World Cup events in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America, and Calgary, AB, Canada. (is.fi, 07 Jan 2022) He withdrew ahead of the second day of the 2021 European Sprint Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands, due to back spasms. (yle.fi, 17 Jan 2021) |
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Ambitions | To win a medal at the world championships. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023) | |
Awards and honours | He was chosen as the best speed skater of 2020 by the Finnish Association of Sports Journalists. (iltalehti.fi, 13 Jan 2021) | |
Other information | COACHING CHANGE He says he has improved under coach Janne Hanninen, who took over as head coach of the Finnish national team after Peter Mueller was removed from the role in December 2019 following a poor run of results. "Janne was firm with his thoughts on my skating technique, which is what he has been helping me with. My training has also become more sprint focused during Janne's time, which is more suitable for me." (yle.fi, 21 Jan 2021, 03 Dec 2019) |
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Hobbies | Chess, fishing. (Athlete, 17 Nov 2023) | |
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs | He puts on his left skate first. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2023) |
Championships results | Year | Competition | Event | Rank | ||
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Championships results
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2023/2024 | European Single Distances Championships | Team Sprint | 5 | |||
2018/2019 | European Sprint Championships | Overall | 15 | |||
2020/2021 | European Sprint Championships | Overall | 16 | |||
2022/2023 | European Sprint Championships | Overall | 18 | |||
2023/2024 | European Single Distances Championships | 1500m | 19 | |||
2016/2017 | European Sprint Championships | Overall | 19 | |||
2017/2018 | European Single Distances Championships | 1000m | 19 | |||
2017/2018 | European Single Distances Championships | 1500m | 19 | |||
2018/2019 | World Sprint Championships | Overall | 23 | |||
2023/2024 | World Allround Championships | Allround | 23 |
World Cups | Year | Competition | Event | Rank | ||
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World Cups
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2018/2019 | World Cup Classification | 1000m | 34 | |||
2020/2021 | World Cup Classification | 1000m | 38 | |||
2022/2023 | World Cup Classification | 1500m | 40 | |||
2020/2021 | World Cup Classification | 1500m | 40 | |||
2023/2024 | World Cup Classification | Mass Start | 43 | |||
2022/2023 | World Cup Classification | 1000m | 49 | |||
2018/2019 | World Cup Classification | 500m | 52 | |||
2023/2024 | World Cup Classification | 1500m | 57 | |||
2019/2020 | World Cup Classification | 1500m | 62 |