Three-time Olympic cross-country skiing champion Iivo Niskanen has revealed that he underwent two surgeries this summer after doctors discovered melanoma, forcing him to alter his preparation for the upcoming season. The 34-year-old Finnish star said the melanoma was discovered in early summer and that the diagnosis changed his plans for the months that followed. The final diagnosis was melanoma in situ, meaning the abnormal cells were confined to the place where they originated.
“Numerous ups and downs have been knocked down, but in recent months, bigger than usual have been seen,” Niskanen wrote on Instagram. “Finally the diagnosis was an in situ change, so I survived with a couple of surgeries and a scare.”
The diagnosis meant Niskanen missed a planned Finnish national team training camp during the summer. He is scheduled to return to the national team in Olos, Finland, in November. Despite the disruption, Niskanen said his training is now progressing according to plan.
The cancer diagnosis and surgeries came during another major change in Niskanen’s life. Niskanen and his wife, Saana, welcomed their third child in September. The Olympic champion is now balancing his return to training with life at home with a newborn. “At the moment it feels especially good that the training is going as planned and at home you can take a day rest with a newborn,” Niskanen wrote.
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The Finnish Ski Association has said Niskanen is progressing well and that his return will be handled step by step. “We see good progress and above all a strong will to look forward,” Finnish national team coach Joakim Abrahamsson said. “We will continue to proceed step by step and adjust the process in the way that is best for Iivo and his family.”
Niskanen is one of Finland’s most successful cross-country skiers of the modern era. He won his first Olympic gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics as part of Finland’s men’s team sprint team. Four years later, he won the 50-kilometer classical race at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. He defended that title in the 50-kilometer classical event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming a three-time Olympic champion. In 2026, Niskanen sadly was suffering from a flu and had to pull out 15 kilometers into the race.
Now, after an unexpected summer away from the national team, Niskanen is preparing to return to competition. “In spite of everything, I can confidently wait for the start of the competition season,” he wrote.
For the Olympic champion, the coming months will combine a return to elite racing with life as a father of three, after a summer that brought an unexpected medical scare but ultimately allowed him to resume training.