Anna Vanhatalo

Anna Vanhatalo
Born (1984-02-29) February 29, 1984
Helsinki, Finland
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 143 lb (65 kg; 10 st 3 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
SM-liiga team Espoo Blues
National team  Finland
Playing career 2002–present
Olympic medal record
Women's ice hockey
Representing  Finland
World Championships
2011 Switzerland
Women's Winter Olympics
2010 Vancouver
Women's 4 Nations Cup
2010 Canada

Anna Vanhatalo (born February 29, 1984) is a hockey and ringette player who competes for Finland women's national ice hockey team and for Finland national ringette team. Vanhatalo excels at both sports.

Ringette career

Since 2002, Vanhatalo has played in the professional Finnish ringette league, Ringeten SM-sarja, and been a member of the Finnish national ringette team. She has won two gold medals, one in the World Ringette Championships held in Stockholm in 2004 and the other in the 2007 World Ringette Championships held in Ottawa.[1] She was elected the better goalkeeper of the 2004 world Championship.[2]

In 2006, Vanhatalo went to Canada to play one season for the Montreal Mission team in Canada's National Ringette League.[3] In exchange, her Finnish team Helsinki Ringette[4] gave Claudia Jetté, the Montreal Mission goalkeeper.[5]

Ice hockey career

In autumn, 2009, she started playing the goalkeeper position in ice hockey with the women's team of the hockey club Espoo Blues in the SM-liiga of Finland. The performances of Vanhatalo with Espoo Blues and in the Europe Cup to allow her to obtain goalkeeper's post holder with the national team of Finland. She played in the Tournament of 4 nations, in the Vancouver Winter Olympics and in the 2011 World championship in Switzerland.

Vanhatalo play at present for SKIF Nijni Novgorod, a team which evolves in Russia Women'Championship.

Personal life

During her stay in Quebec in 2006, she learned the French language. In 2009, she obtained her master's degree of Economics from Helsinki School. The subject of her thesis was the sponsoring for the women's sports. She is multi-lingual and speaks Finnish, Swedish, German, English and French.

Honors

References

  1. ↑ (in French) 2007 Statistiques
  2. ↑ Gold Medal Game - Finland vs Canada Archived August 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Player statistiques
  4. ↑ (in Finnish) Helsinki Ringette
  5. ↑ (in French) Claudia Jetté in Finland


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