Men
FIN
Mika Poutala
FIN- Date of birth20 Jun 1983
- Height177 CM
- ProfessionAthlete, Businessperson, Motivational Speaker
- HometownCalgary
- Place of birthHelsinki
- Start skating Club He took up the sport in 1990 at age seven in Helsinki, Finland. Helsingin Tyovaen Luistelijat [HTL]: Finland
- HobbiesN/A
- LanguagesEnglish, Finnish
- Other namePlastiC, Gangster, Cheetah (luisteluliitto.fi, 10 May 2005)
- FamliyWife Sanni, two sons
- CoachN/A
- ChoreographerN/A
- Former CoachN/A
- Practice low seasonN/A
- Practice high seasonN/A
- General Interest
- Sport Specific Information
He was Finland's flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (OIS, 25 Feb 2018)
He was named Skater of the Year by the Finnish Speed Skating Association on six occasions between 2008 and 2017. (luisteluliitto.fi, 09 Apr 2017, 2017)
He was named Skater of the Year by the Finnish Speed Skating Association on six occasions between 2008 and 2017. (luisteluliitto.fi, 09 Apr 2017, 2017)
Hard work beats talent. (Athlete, 14 Dec 2012)
Dutch speed skater Gianni Romme, American football player Tim Tebow. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2017, 15 Dec 2012)
Coach Toivo Kihlanki. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2017)
Placing fifth overall in the 500m at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, and finishing second in the 500m at the 2016 World Cup event in Calgary, AB, Canada. (Athlete, 13 Nov 2017, 27 Jan 2015)
TRAINING OVERSEAS
He has to spend some of his time training abroad because of a lack of facilities in Finland. "We don't have an ice rink in Finland and so we can't skate there. So every time we are skating we have to travel somewhere [else], and it always costs a lot of money. The Finnish Federation doesn't have that much money so we can't travel all the time, and actually most of the Finnish skaters don't want to travel that much. It is also hard for me because of my family. I don't think I would want to skate more before the season if I always have to go to training camps because then I am away from my family." (isu.org, 09 Jan 2017)
AUTHOR
He has written and published a book named 'What it takes to succeed'. (isu.org, 09 Jan 2017)
MUSIC MAN
He has recorded two music albums, one in a group and one solo. His solo effort is a rap album under the alias 'PlastiC', which is the name he used in high school when playing online games. He also sings in a gospel choir, and once missed a World Cup event to perform in front of 10,000 people at Finland's largest gospel music concert in Turku. (isu.org, 09 Jan 2017; nbcolympics.com, 02 Feb 2010)
He has to spend some of his time training abroad because of a lack of facilities in Finland. "We don't have an ice rink in Finland and so we can't skate there. So every time we are skating we have to travel somewhere [else], and it always costs a lot of money. The Finnish Federation doesn't have that much money so we can't travel all the time, and actually most of the Finnish skaters don't want to travel that much. It is also hard for me because of my family. I don't think I would want to skate more before the season if I always have to go to training camps because then I am away from my family." (isu.org, 09 Jan 2017)
AUTHOR
He has written and published a book named 'What it takes to succeed'. (isu.org, 09 Jan 2017)
MUSIC MAN
He has recorded two music albums, one in a group and one solo. His solo effort is a rap album under the alias 'PlastiC', which is the name he used in high school when playing online games. He also sings in a gospel choir, and once missed a World Cup event to perform in front of 10,000 people at Finland's largest gospel music concert in Turku. (isu.org, 09 Jan 2017; nbcolympics.com, 02 Feb 2010)
He incorporates weights and walking into his training schedule. He has two recovery days a week.
One of his mother's friends asked him to try the sport, and he found it fun.
