Career
He is the youngest ever Winter Olympic gold medalist, at 16 years and 261 days. Nieminen"s biggest success came in his first season in 1991/92. At the time, the transition from the Daescher technique to the V-style was taking place and Nieminen was one of the first to master the new technique.
Nieminen took his first victory in Thunder Bay, in December 1991.
In the, Nieminen took a total of 8 victories securing also the overall title. Nieminen was chosen as the Finnish Sports Personality of the Year 1992.
In the following seasons, Nieminen showed only glimpses of his great talent. In 1994, he became the first ever ski jumper to break the 200 metre barrier at Planica, with a world record of 203 m.
Out of his total of 9 individual victories, only one came after the 1991/92 season, in Kuopio 1995.
In team competitions, Nieminen scored one victory, in Villach 2001. After retiring from ski jumping in 2004, Nieminen has worked as a sports commentator for Finnish MTV3. He has also competed as a driver in harness racing.
Nieminen made a comeback on 30th January 2016 finishing 17th in normal hill Finnish championship.
Nieminen said that his target is to make a comeback to the
Standings
Wins.
