Valter Virtanen

Valtter Virtanen (born 4 June 1987) is a Finnish figure skater. He is a three-time Nordic medalist (gold in 2022, silver in 2016, bronze in 2014) and a eight-time Finnish national champion (2013, 2015–2018, 2022-2023). He has competed at a total of seventeen ISU Championships, reaching the final segment on six occasions, at five European and one World Junior Championships. His best ISU Championship placement, fourteenth, came at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo.

Personal life

Virtanen was born on 4 June 1987 in Kerava, Finland. After completing his studies in late 2015, he became a medical doctor at a hospital in Oberstdorf, Germany. He works part-time in the emergency room of the Hospital of Peurunka and is team doctor of Finnish hockey team, JYP Jyväskylä. He is also multilingual with the ability to speak Finnish, English, German, and Swedish fluently.

He married German figure skater Alina Mayer in July 2016. The couple's daughter, Lija, was born in January 2021.

In the summer of 2022, responding to an appeal from the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation, Virtanen and his wife decided to help Ukrainian figure skater, Kyrylo Marsak, who was no longer able to train in Kyiv due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They allowed him to train at their skating club, the Peurunka Skating Academy in Laukaa, and Virtanen's wife became Marsak's new coach.

Virtanen's mother died from cancer in February 2023.

Career

Early career

Virtanen began skating in 1992 at Keravan Luistinseura. His first skating coach was Liivo Rennik. As a junior, he competed at three consecutive World Junior Championships. He reached the final segment and finished twentieth overall at the 2005 Junior Worlds in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. He moved up to the senior level during the 2006–07 figure skating season and subsequently won bronze at the 2008 and 2010 Finnish Championships and silver at the 2009 Finnish Championships.

Prior to the 2010–11 figure skating season, Virtanen left his longtime coach, Liivo Rennik, to begin training under Stefan Zins in Tampere. That season, after winning silver at the 2011 Finnish Championships, Virtanen was selected to compete at the European Championships for the first time, where he finished in thirty-third place.

2012–13 season

Virtanen began the season by finishing twenty-second at the 2012 Nebelhorn Trophy, tenth at the 2012 Finlandia Trophy, fifteenth at the 2012 Cup of Nice, and fourteenth at the 2012 NRW Trophy.

In December, Virtanen won his first national title at the 2013 Finnish Championships. Selected to compete at the 2013 European Championships, Virtanen placed twenty-sixth in the short program, failing to advance to the free skate segment of the competition. The following month, he would finish seventh at the 2013 Nordic Championships, thirteenth at the 2013 Bavarian Open, third at the 2013 Hellmut Seibt Memorial, and seventh at the 2013 International Challenge Cup.

Following the season, Virtanen moved to Oberstdorf, Germany to train under Karel Fajfr.

2013–14 season

Beginning the season at the 2013 Lombardia Trophy in mid-September, Virtanen placed twelfth. He would follow this up by finishing nineteenth at the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy, twelfth at the 2013 Finlandia Trophy, thirteenth at the 2013 Cup of Nice, seventh at the 2013 Merano Cup, tenth at the 2013 Ice Challenge, and eleventh at the 2013 NRW Trophy.

Following a silver medal win at the 2014 Finnish Championships, Virtanen was selected to compete at the European Championships for a third time, where he finished in twenty-ninth place. One week later, he would compete at the 2014 Bavarian Open, where he finished eighth.

In late February, Virtanen made the podium at the Nordic Championships for the first time, taking the bronze medal. He would then close the season with a ninth-place finish at the 2014 International Challenge Cup.

2014–15 season

Virtanen started the season by finishing sixth at the 2014 CS Finlandia Trophy. He would then go on to finish sixth at the 2014 Merano Cup and fifth at the 2014 NRW Trophy.

In December, Virtanen won his second national title at the 2015 Finnish Championships. Selected to compete at the 2015 European Championships, Virtanen finished eighteenth. He would subsequently compete at the 2015 Winter Universiade, where he placed fifteenth.

Virtanen finished the season by winning bronze at the 2015 Bavarian Open.

2015–16 season

Virtanen began the season by competing on the 2015–16 ISU Challenger Series, finishing twelfth at the 2015 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and the 2015 CS Finlandia Trophy. He would then subsequently finish fifteenth at the 2015 Cup of Nice and seventh at the 2015 NRW Trophy.

After winning his third national title at the Finnish Championships, Virtanen competed at the 2016 European Championships and placed twenty-sixth. He would then finish fifteenth at the 2016 Bavarian Open before closing the season by winning silver at the 2016 Nordic Championships and bronze at the 2016 Cup of Tyrol.

Following the season, Virtanen's wife, Alina Mayer-Virtanen, joined his coaching team.

2016–17 season

Virtanen started the season by finishing ninth at the 2016 Merano Cup. He then went on to place tenth at the 2016 CS Tallinn Trophy and fifth at the 2016 NRW Trophy. In December, he won his fourth national title at the 2017 Finnish Championships.

After finishing seventh at the 2017 Mentor Toruń Cup, Virtanen competed at the 2017 European Championships and finish in twenty-third place. He would follow this up by placing seventh at the 2017 Bavarian Open and tenth at the 2017 Cup of Tyrol.

Making his World Championship debut at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, he finished thirty-third.

2017–18 season

Prior to the season, Virtanen made a coaching change, going from Karel Fajfr to Jean-François Ballester and Marie Therese Kreiselmeyer. His wife, Alina, also continued coaching him.

He began the season by competing on the 2017–18 ISU Challenger Series, finishing seventeenth at the 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy, seventeenth at the 2017 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, and twelfth at the 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy. He would then go on to compete at the 2017 Merano Cup and the 2017 Cup of Tyrol, placing fourth and eighth, respectively.

In December, he won his fifth national title at the 2018 Finnish Championships and was ultimately selected to represent Finland at the European and World Championships.

At the 2018 European Championships in Moscow, Russia, Virtanen finished in nineteenth place. He would subsequently go on to finish fourth at the 2018 Bavarian Open, win silver at the 2018 Nordic Championships, and win bronze at the 2018 International Challenge Cup.

In March, he finished thirty-fifth at the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Italy.

2018–19 season

Virtanen began the season by competing on the 2018–19 ISU Challenger Series, finishing seventh at the 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and nineteenth at the 2018 CS Finlandia Trophy. Due to the Chinese Skating Association declining to host their annual Grand Prix event, the Cup of China, the Finnish Figure Skating Association volunteered to host the event instead. As a result, Virtanen was selected as a host pick to compete at the 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki. Making his senior Grand Prix debut at the event, Virtanen finished the event in eleventh place. He would also go on to place eleventh at the 2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy.

In December, Virtanen's coach, Jean-François Ballester, unexpectedly died of a heart attack. Following Ballester's death, Virtanen posted on his Instagram, expressing that he hoped he could continue making Ballester proud. Shortly afterward, Virtanen won the silver medal at the 2019 Finnish Championships behind Roman Galay.

He subsequently competed at the 2019 Bavarian Open and the 2019 Cup of Tyrol, where he finished seventh and fifth, respectively. Selected to compete at the 2019 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Virtanen placed thirty-second.

2019–20 season

In August, it was announced that Virtanen would split his training time between working with his wife, Alina, in Peurunka, Finland, while also making trips to Oberstdorf, Germany to work with Michael Huth.

Virtanen began the season by finishing seventeenth at the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy before placing fourth at the 2019 Golden Bear of Zagreb. Continuing to compete on the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series, Virtanen finished sixteenth at the 2019 CS Warsaw Cup and twenty-fifth at the 2019 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.

At the 2020 Finnish Championships, Virtanen again won the silver medal behind Roman Galay. He then finished the season by placing tenth at the 2020 Bavarian Open and fourteenth at the 2020 International Challenge Cup.

2020–21 season

Virtanen started the season by competing at the 2020 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, where he finished thirteenth. He would subsequently place fifth at the 2020 NRW Trophy and the 2020 Tallink Hotels Cup.

Selected to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Virtanen finished in thirty-first place.

2021–22 season

Virtanen began the season by competing 2021–22 ISU Challenger Series, placing twenty-fourth at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, nineteenth at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy, and eleventh at the 2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge. He subsequently finished fourth at the 2021 NRW Trophy and won silver at the 2021 Tallinn Trophy.

In December, Virtanen won the Finnish Championships for a sixth time. He would go on to compete at the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where he placed nineteenth. Virtanen then finished up the season by finishing fourth at the 2022 Bavarian Open, winning gold at the 2022 Nordic Championships, winning bronze at the 2022 Jégvirág Cup, and finishing tenth at the 2022 International Challenge Cup.

2022–23 season

Virtanen started the season by competing on the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series, finishing twelfth at the 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, fourteenth at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy, and thirteenth at the 2022 CS Warsaw Cup. Between the latter two events, Virtanen also finished fifth at the 2022 Volvo Open Cup.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia's annually held Grand Prix event, the Rostelecom Cup, was cancelled and replaced with the Grand Prix of Finland for an indefinite period. As a result, Virtanen was selected as the host nation's men's singles representative at the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo. At the event, Virtanen finished in ninth place. Days later, he would place fourth at the 2022 Santa Claus Cup.

After winning his seventh national title at the 2023 Finnish Championships, Virtanen was selected to compete at the 2023 European Championships in Espoo, Finland. At the event, he finished in fourteenth place. He would subsequently win gold at the 2023 Bavarian Open, finish fifth at the 2023 Tallink Hotels Cup, and place tenth at the 2023 International Challenge Cup.

2023–24 season

In June 2023, it was announced he was taking up pairs skating and pairing with Tilda Alteryd. However the partnership would come to an end in September 2023 due to Alteryd's difficulties with adapting to the new training environment in Finland. As a result, Virtanen returned to singles skating. His short program to the song "Saturn" by Sleeping at Last was dedicated to his mother, who had recently died.

Virtanen began competing in early November at the 2023 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, where he placed eighth. While at the event, Virtanen was able to secure the technical minimum scores to compete at the World Championships. He subsequently competed at the 2023 CS Warsaw Cup and the 2023 Tallinn Trophy, finishing tenth and fourth, respectively.

In December, Virtanen placed second at the 2024 Finnish Championships behind Makar Suntsev. He would then subsequently finish tenth at the 2024 Bavarian Open and won the bronze medal at the 2024 Tallink Hotels Cup.

Due to Suntsev failing to obtain the minimum technical scores to compete at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Virtanen was sent to the event. He finished thirty-fourth of the forty men competing at the event. Following the event, Virtanen said, "I am glad to have skated without big errors. I try to enjoy every moment like this because especially at my age it’s not clear when will be the last opportunity like this."

2024–25 season

Virtanen started the season by competing at the 2024 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge and the 2024 Volvo Open Cup, where he finished tenth and ninth, respectively. Selected to compete at the Finnish Grand Prix event, the 2024 Finlandia Trophy, Virtanen came in eleventh place.

Following an eleventh-place finish at the 2024 CS Warsaw Cup, Virtanen went on to win his eighth national title at the 2025 Finnish Championships. He then placed fifth at the 2025 Bavarian Open.

Selected to compete at the 2025 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Virtanen finished the event in twenty-fourth place. He then went on to win gold at the Union Trophy, silver at the 2025 Merano Ice Trophy, and silver at the 2025 Tallink Hotels Cup. Virtanen subsequently closed the season by placing fourth at the 2025 Bellu Memorial.

Programs

Competitive highlights

Detailed results

Senior level

Junior level

References

External links

*

Valtter Virtanen
at SkatingScores.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virtanen, Valtter
1987 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Kerava
Finnish male single skaters
Competitors at the 2015 Winter Universiade
Competitors at the 2009 Winter Universiade
21st-century Finnish sportsmen