Virpi Sarasvuo
Virpi Katriina Sarasvuo is a Finnish former cross-country skier who competed from 1995 to 2010. She won a bronze medal in the team sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and earned her best individual finish of fifth in the individual sprint event in those same games. Four years later in Vancouver, Kuitunen won another bronze, this time in the 4 × 5 km relay.
Kuitunen has eight medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with six golds, one silver, one bronze. She also has thirty-four additional individual victories at various levels of various distances since 2000.
Kuitunen won the first ever Tour de Ski competition for women in 2006–07, winning over Norway's Marit Bjørgen by 1:17.5. She also won the overall 2006–07 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup, as well as the sprint World Cup the same season. In the season 2007–08 Kuitunen won the overall again.
Because of Kuitunen's successes in cross-country skiing in 2007, she was awarded Finnish Sportswoman of the Year. Kuitunen also won the Tour de Ski in 2008–09.
Virpi Kuitunen married Jari Sarasvuo on 16 July 2010.
Doping controversy
At the 2001 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti, Kuitunen was disqualified when she tested positive for hydroxyethyl starch, a banned blood plasma expander. She was forced to relinquish her silver medal earned in the 4 × 5 km and served a two-year suspension until the 2003 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.Cross-country skiing results
All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).Olympic Games
- 2 medals –
| Year | Age | 10 km individual | 15 km skiathlon | 30 km mass start | Sprint | 4 × 5 km relay | Team sprint |
| 2006 | 29 | 9 | — | [Cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Women's 30 kilometre freestyle|] | 5 | 7 | Bronze |
| 2010 | 33 | — | — | 13 | 9 | Bronze | — |
World Championships
- 8 medals –
| Year | Age | 5 km | 10 km | 15 km | Pursuit | 30 km | Sprint | 4 × 5 km relay | Team sprint |
| 1999 | 22 | 35 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2001 | 24 | — | — | Gold | — | ||||
| 2003 | 26 | — | — | 16 | — | — | — | ||
| 2005 | 28 | 4 | — | Silver | 5 | 5 | — | ||
| 2007 | 30 | — | Gold | Bronze | Gold | Gold | |||
| 2009 | 32 | 4 | 13 | [FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 – Women's 30 kilometre freestyle|] | — | Gold | Gold |
World Cup
Season titles
- 5 titles –
Individual podiums
- 27 victories –
- 52 podiums –
| No. | Season | Date | Location | Race | Level | Place | |||||||||
| 1 | 2000–01 | 17 December 2000 |  Team podiums
|
