Veli Selim Saarinen (16 September 1902, Martinsaari

Vyborgsky District, Leningrad Oblast

Vyborgsky District is a district of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, on the Karelian Isthmus, established in 1940 when the territory had been ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union by Moscow Peace Treaty as a result of the Winter War. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of...

 – 12 October 1969) was a Finnish

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...

 cross-country skier

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

 who competed in the 1920s and 1930's.

He was born in Martinsaari

Vyborgsky District, Leningrad Oblast

Vyborgsky District is a district of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, on the Karelian Isthmus, established in 1940 when the territory had been ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union by Moscow Peace Treaty as a result of the Winter War. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of...

 and died in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

.

At the 1928 Winter Olympics

1928 Winter Olympics

The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 11–19, 1928 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The 1928 Games were the first true Winter Olympics held on its own as they were not in conjunction with a Summer Olympics...

 he finished fourth in the 18 kilometre event

Cross-country skiing at the 1932 Winter Olympics - Men's 18 km

The shorter cross-country skiing event of the cross-country skiing at the 1932 Winter Olympics programme was contested of a distance of 19.7 kilometres. It was the third appearance of the event, but the only time this race was held over a distance of 19.7 kilometres...

.

Saarinen won a pair of medals at the 1932 Winter Olympics

1932 Winter Olympics

The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1932 in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 15. It would be the first winter olympics held in the United...

 in Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid, New York

Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....

, earning a gold in the 50 km and a bronze in the 18 km event.

Saarinen's biggest success as a cross-country skier was at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and since 1954 for women. Championship events include nordic skiing's three disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined...

, where he won six medals. This included three golds (1929: 17 km, 1933: 50 km, 1934: 4 x 10 km), two silvers (1929: 50 km, 1934: 18 km), and 1 bronze (1926: 30 km).