Toivo Kostia Salonen (born 21 May 1933) is a former speed skater

Speed skating

Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...

 from Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. He was born in Pälkäne

Pälkäne

Pälkäne is a municipality of Finland.Pälkäne is in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...

.

Toivo Salonen had most of his successes on a national level, becoming Finnish Allround Champion in 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, winning Finnish silver in 1953, 1955, and 1962, and taking bronze in 1963 and 1964. But Salonen also competed internationally for 12 years and participated in 4 Winter Olympics. At the 1956 Winter Olympics

1956 Winter Olympics

The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This celebration of the Games was held from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which had originally been awarded the 1944 Winter Olympics, beat out...

 in Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo is a town and comune in the southern Alps located in Veneto, a region in Northern Italy. Located in the heart of the Dolomites in an alpine valley, it is a popular winter sport resort known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodations, shops and après-ski scene...

, he won bronze on the 1,500 m. So far (including the 2006 Winter Olympics

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

), Salonen is the last Finnish male speed skater to have won an Olympic medal – the last Finnish female speed skater so far being Kaija Mustonen

Kaija Mustonen

Kaija Marja Mustonen is a former speed skater from Finland.After winning silver and bronze at the 1964 Winter Olympics of Innsbruck, Mustonen went on to win gold and silver at the 1968 Winter Olympics of Grenoble....

 in 1968. In 1959, Salonen won bronze at the European Allround Championships

European Speed Skating Championships

The European Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of Europe. The International Skating Union has organised the European Championships for Men since 1893 and the European Championships for Women since 1970. The...

 behind gold medallist Knut Johannesen

Knut Johannesen

Knut Johannesen is a former speed skater from Norway.-Biography:Born in Oslo and representing the skating club ASK there, Johannesen won the World Allround Championships in 1957 and 1964, the European Allround Championships in 1959 and 1960, and won the Norwegian...

 and fellow countryman Juhani Järvinen

Juhani Järvinen

Jouko Juhani Järvinen was a Finnish speed skater, allround world champion and world record holder on 1500m.He was born in Tuulos and died in Helsinki. He was the father of Timo Järvinen....

, who won silver. Two weeks later at the World Allround Championships

World Allround Speed Skating Championships

The World Allround Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of the world...

, Salonen won silver behind Järvinen.