Kalle Markus Palander (born May 2, 1977 in

Tornio Tornio (; sv, Torneå; sme, Duortnus ; smn, Tuárnus) is a city and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is ...

) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

retired

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

, the most successful male Finn ever in the sport.

Career

In 1999 Palander won the

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

. He also won the

Alpine skiing World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France ( ...

in slalom during the 2002–2003 season, and was fourth in the overall standings. Palander has also been successful in

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

. He is known for his relaxed attitude and for wearing a red

toque A toque ( or ) is a type of hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all. Toques were popular from the 13th to the 16th century in Europe, especially France. The mode was revived in the 1930s. Now it is primarily known as the traditional headgear ...

instead of a

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

when participating in slalom competitions.

World Cup victories

Overall victories

World Cup victories

References

External links

* *
Kalle Palander
at Virtual Finland * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palander, Kalle 1977 births Living people People from Tornio Finnish male alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers for Finland FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Skiers from Lapland (Finland)