Väinö Liikkanen (1 November 1903 – 15 October 1957) 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 Virolahti

Virolahti

Virolahti is the southeastern-most municipality of Finland on the border of the Russian Federation. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...

.

Liikkanen won a silver medal in the 50 km event 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....

. He finished 9th in the shorter cross-country skiing 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...

 at the same Olympics.

He also won two medals 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...

with a gold in the 4 x 10 km (1935) and a bronze in the 18 km (1933).