Iivo Niskanen and a large group of Finnish skiers named to the Olympics

The Finnish Olympic Committee has named its first group of individual athletes for the Milano–Cortina Winter Olympics, which will take place from 6 to 22 February 2026.

The initial selections span four sports. In cross-country skiing, Finland selected Jasmi Joensuu, Iivo Niskanen, Kerttu Niskanen, Krista Pärmäkoski and Lauri Vuorinen.

Beyond cross-country, biathlete Suvi Minkkinen and Nordic combined athlete Ilkka Herola were named, as well as freeskiers Anni Kärävä and Elias Syrjä.

According to the Olympic Committee’s high-performance director Janne Hänninen, Finland follows a principle of flexible selection. The choices were made in cooperation with the national federations to provide leading athletes with peace of mind as they prepare for the Games.

“The criterion for these athletes has been the potential they demonstrated last season to fight for medals among the world’s best. At this stage, their qualification situations are already so clear that we could name them to the Olympic team,” Hänninen said.

The rosters for Finland’s ice hockey teams will be announced at the end of the year. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association had already named an initial group of players in June: Sebastian Aho, Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell and Juuse Saros. Due to an injury last week, Barkov will not be able to play in the Olympic tournament.

In total, 48 hockey players will be selected for the Games, and Finland’s overall Olympic team size is expected to be around 100 athletes.