Terhi Kokkonen (athlete)

Terhi Kokkonen (born June 13, 1947) is a Finnish Masters track and field athlete.^[1] As a combined event athlete, she also has produced medal winning results in a range of other events totaling eight individual World Championship gold medals. She was the 2013 World champion in the W65 Heptathlon. She had been the silver medalist in the two previous World Championships, losing in 2011 to Phil Raschker, perhaps the most decorated masters athlete in history. In 2007 she was the bronze medalist behind Raschker and future multi-World Record holder, Marianne Maier .^[2] She also took bronze in 2015.^[3]

Being a multiple-event athlete, she has excelled in a range of individual events. She was the gold medalist in the triple jump in 2015, bronze 2013.^[4] She was the gold medalist in the 80 metres hurdles in 2013, silver in 2011 and 2009, and bronze in 2015.^[5] She was two time silver medalist in the high jump in 2011 and 2013.^[6] She was gold medalist in the 300 metres hurdles in 2013 beating Raschker, silver in 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015.^[7] Her race in 2007 of 52.38 in Riccione, Italy remains the W60 European Record in the event.^[8] In the 100 metres, she took silver in 2009, with bronze in 2011 and 2013.^[9] She also took silver in the 200 metres in 2009^[10] and 400 metres in 2007.^[11] Her ability as a sprinter has put her on the Finnish national relay teams, winning a gold medal before the home crowd in Lahti in the 4x100 metres relay plus a silver in the 4x400 metres relay in 2009^[12] and taking a bronze medal in the 4x400 in 2015.

At the World Indoor Masters Championships, she has a similar pattern of success. She won the pentathlon in 2012, silver in 2014.^[13] She took gold in the 60 metres hurdles in 2012 and 2014.^[14] See the Video on YouTube. She won the 60 metres sprint in a photo finish in 2012, taking the bronze in 2014.^[15] She also has a silver medal in the triple jump^[16] and a bronze in the 200 metres^[17] from 2012.

She won the 2016 European Indoor Championships in the Pentathlon^[18] and Triple Jump.^[19]

She was the number 1 Finnish 400 metre runner in her age group from 2001-2009 (the only years the list was kept), except for 2005 when she apparently didn't make an attempt.^[20]

Terhi is also a speed skater, having achieved a personal best at 500m of 1:00.95 and 1500m of 3:21.43.^[21]

References