Voitto "Vode" Liukkonen (19 July 1940 – 26 December 2007) was a Finnish sports commentator

Sports commentator

In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...

 who worked for Finland's National Broadcasting Company, YLE. He was born in Mikkeli

Mikkeli

Mikkeli is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...

. He was especially known for his minimalistic style of commentating.

From 1973 to 2002 Liukkonen worked for the sports section of YLE TV2

YLE TV2

YLE TV2 is a Finnish television channel owned and operated by YLE.TV2 launched in 1964, and broadcasts public service programming, children's, youth, sport and music programmes.-Own Productions:* Ajankohtainen kakkonen* Akuutti* Jopet Show* Kummeli...

. He was one of the commentators for both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. His main sports were rowing

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

, kayaking

Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...

 and tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

. Beginning with the 1998 Winter Olympics

1998 Winter Olympics

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...

 he also commentated curling

Curling

Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...

. In the 1960s Liukkonen himself was a kayaker at the national level.

Liukkonen's biggest career moments were Pertti Karppinen

Pertti Karppinen

Pertti Johannes Karppinen is a Finnish rower who is legendary for his three consecutive Olympic Gold medals in Single Sculls in 1976, 1980, and 1984. He also won World Championships in 1979 and 1985. He once held the world record in indoor rowing. Karppinen's style was to row a steady race and...

's Olympic gold medal in rowing at the Montreal 1976

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

, Moscow 1980

1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

 and in Los Angeles 1984

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

 Olympics. In Los Angeles he was also the commentator for Jouko Salomäki

Jouko Salomäki

Jouko Johannes Salomäki is a Finnish wrestler and Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. He was nicknamed "Jokke" during his career....

's gold medal victory in Greco-Roman wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...

. For Winter sports Liukkonen commentated Matti Nykänen

Matti Nykänen

Matti Ensio Nykänen is a Finnish former ski jumper who won five Olympic medals , nine World Championships medals and 22 Finnish Championships medals . Most notably, Nykänen won three gold medals at the 1988 Winter Olympics, becoming, along with Yvonne van Gennip of the Netherlands, the most...

's first World Champion victory in large hill in Oslo 1982 and Marjo Matikainen's Olympic gold medal victory in women's 5 km skiing in Calgary 1988

1988 Winter Olympics

The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...

. At the Barcelona 1992

1992 Summer Olympics

The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

 games he was the commentator when Mikko Kolehmainen

Mikko Kolehmainen

Mikko Yrjö Ilmari Kolehmainen is a Finnish sprint canoer who competed from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won the gold medal in the K-1 500 m event at Barcelona in 1992...

 won the gold medal in K-1 500 metres kayaking. After his retirement Liukkonen made a comeback and commentated curling in the Olympics. The biggest moment of his curling commentating career was the Olympic silver medal won by Markku Uusipaavalniemi

Markku Uusipaavalniemi

Markku Uusipaavalniemi is a Finnish curler and politician.-Personal life:Uusipaavalniemi lives in Hyvinkää with his wife and three children. His older brother Jussi taught him how to curl.-Curling career:...

's team in Torino 2006

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...

.