Reeta Sisko Hanhijoki, née Markkanen (born 25 April 1962 in

Rautalampi Rautalampi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Neig ...

) is a retired Finnish sprinter, who specialized in the 60,

100 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

. She won a bronze medal at the 1989 European Indoor Championships. Domestically, she won 28 national championship titles in the 60, 100 and 200 metres indoor and outdoor between 1985 and 1993.

Early career

Hanhijoki was born in

and represented the club Vesannon Urheilijat. In her early career she competed in the

4 x 100 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest co ...

at the

1983 World Championships The 1st 1983 World Championships in Athletics were run under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations and were held at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland between 7 and 14 August 1983. Summary The overall me ...

, and in the 100 metres at the 1986 European Championships without reaching the final. She competed at 60 metres and 200 metres at the 1988 European Indoor Championships and the 1989 World Indoor Championships without reaching the final.

International breakthrough

At the 1989 European Indoor Championships she won the bronze medal in the 60 metres behind Nelli Fiere-Cooman and

Laurence Bily Laurence Bily (born 5 May 1963 in Bressuire) is a retired French sprinter, who specialized in the 100 meters. She ran for the Racing Club de France Racing Club de France, also known as RCF, is a French omnisport club that was founded on 20 Apri ...

. She also finished sixth in the 200 metres. At the 1990 European Championships she reached the semi-final of both the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

and semi-final of the

. At the 1991 World Indoor Championships she finished eighth in the 60 metres and sixth in the 200 metres. At the 1991 World Championships she only reached the quarter-final of the

and semi-final of the

. The Finnish team also participated in the relay. At the 1992 Olympic Games she reached the semi-final of both the

and

, but only round one of the

. She also finished eighth at the

1992 IAAF World Cup The 6th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 25–27, 1992, at the Estadio Panamericano in Havana, Cuba. Overall re ...

. At the 1993 World Indoor Championships she reached the semi-final of both the 60 metres and sixth in the 200 metres. At the 1993 World Championships she competed in the

. Hanhijoki became Finnish champion in both 100 and 200 metres in 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992. She also became Finnish indoor champion in the 60 metres in 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993; and in the 200 metres in 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991. The hegemony in Finnish women's sprint was taken over by

Sanna Kyllönen Sanna Kyllönen, née Hernesniemi (born 9 March 1971, in Kokkola) is a retired Finnish woman sprinter, who specialized in the 100 and 200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre race ...

, née Hernesniemi. Hanhijoki's personal best time in the 60 metres (indoor) was 7.20 seconds, achieved in February 1990 in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

.World women's all-time best 60m indoor
(last updated 2001) In the 100 metres she had 11.24 seconds, achieved at the 1991 World Championships;
(last updated 2001) and in the 200 metres she had 22.81 seconds, achieved in July 1991 in

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on the shore of the Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, an ...

. She also co-holds the Finnish record in the relay.

International competitions

¹Representing Europe

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanhijoki, Sisko 1962 births Living people People from Rautalampi Finnish female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Finland Olympic female sprinters Sportspeople from North Savo