Risto Mattila (born 4 February 1981,
Kannus
Kannus is a town and municipality of Finland. It is situated in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of , of which is water. The populatio ...
,
Central Ostrobothnia
Central Ostrobothnia (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region in Finland. Central Ostrobothnia borders the Bothnian Bay and the regions of Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Central Finland and South Ostrobothnia ...
) is a
Finnish snowboard
Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...
er. He is an all-around rider, who has many achievements in
half pipe
A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding.
Overview
The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramps ...
, big air and in park riding contests. He has also made a name by having shots in the international snowboarding magazines. He is well known as a confident rider and because of his smooth style.
Biography
Mattila was born in Kannus, which is located in
Central Ostrobothnia
Central Ostrobothnia (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region in Finland. Central Ostrobothnia borders the Bothnian Bay and the regions of Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Central Finland and South Ostrobothnia ...
which is well known for its flat surface. Risto started snowboarding at the age of 13 in a small resort called Louekallio, together with Olympic bronze medallist Markku Koski.
Career
During his snowboard career Risto has obtained many good results, including many wins in FIS world cup and other snowboarding invitational contests.
Mattila participated in the
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...
in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, finishing 16th in
men's halfpipe. He also represented Finland at the
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...
in Turin, finishing 10th in
men's halfpipe.
Mattila's 2006–2007 season has started promisingly, and Risto has placed as a second in Air & Style and third in
X-Trail Jam, both much respected competitions in the snowboarding world. Mattila also won the 2007 Nissan X-Trail Big Air in Japan
Most recently Mattila participated in the 2008
Toyota Big Air and placed 2nd to his fellow Flow teammate and friend
Antti Autti
Off the snow
When Risto is not snowboarding he usually spends time in Helsinki with his friends. He likes Finnish candies, good food, ketchup and movies. His hobbies besides snowboarding are skateboarding, breakdance and tennis.
Career Standings
2001/2002
*2nd FIS World Cup overall Half Pipe
*2nd FIS Big Air
*16th Salt Lake City Winter Olympics
2003/2004
*World Cup overall winner
*1st World Cup Big Air
*3rd Big Air
*1st Leysin Open slope style
*2nd Burton European open slope style
*3rd The Arctic challenge Half-pipe
2005/2006
*TTR ranking 2nd
*4 World cup wins,
*Us Open winner, overall and slope style,
*Nippon Open pipe 3rd,
*Gravity Games Pipe 3rd,
*SB-Jam 3 rd overall and the ruler of the kicker,
*Arctic Challenge 3rd Big Air,
*2nd Freestyle CH Zurich,
*2nd Nokia Air & Style 06 Munich
2007/2008
*Won 07 Nissan X-Trail Big Air Japan,
*2nd Toyota Big Air
Sponsors
Flow Snowboarding,
Giro,
Volvo
The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...
,
Billabong
In Australian English, a billabong ( ) is a small body of water, usually permanent. It is usually an oxbow lake caused by a change in course of a river or creek, but other types of small lakes, ponds or waterholes are also called billabongs ...
,
Dr. Zipe,
Northwave
Drake Bindings and Boards
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattila, Risto
1981 births
Living people
People from Kannus
Finnish male snowboarders
Olympic snowboarders for Finland
Snowboarders at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Snowboarders at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Sportspeople from Central Ostrobothnia
21st-century Finnish sportsmen