Iida Karhunen
| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 5 April 2008 | |||||
| Home town | Lappeenranta, Finland | |||||
| Height | 1.49 m (4 ft 11 in) | |||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||
| Country | Finland | |||||
| Discipline | Women's singles | |||||
| Coach | Marina Shirshova | |||||
| Skating club | Lappeenrannan taitoluistelijat | |||||
| Began skating | 2010 | |||||
| Medal record | ||||||
| ||||||
Iida Karhunen (born 5 April 2008) is a Finnish figure skater. She is the 2026 Finnish national champion, the 2026 Nordic champion, the 2025 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb silver medalist, and the 56th Volvo Open Cup champion.
At the junior level, she is the 2023 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival champion and a three-time Finnish junior national champion (2023–25).
Karhunen represented Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Personal life
Karhunen was born on 5 April 2008 in Lappeenranta, Finland.[1] She has two older sisters, Laura and Henna, who are both former competitive figure skaters.[2]
Her figure skating idols include Kaori Sakamoto, Loena Hendrickx, Nathan Chen, and Ilia Malinin.[3][4]
Career
Early years
Karhunen began learning how to skate in 2010 at the age of two. Her early coaches included Elina Kutznetsova and Jacek Zylski.[5][2] Since the age of six or seven, Karhunen has been coached by Marina Shirshova.[3][6]
She made her international debut at the 2020 Mentor Toruń Cup as an advanced novice skater, winning the silver medal.[7]
2021–22 season: Junior debut
Karhunen made her junior international debut at the 2021 Volvo Open Cup, winning the gold medal. She subsequently followed this up with a fifth-place finish at the 2021 Santa Claus Cup. In December, she made her national debut at the 2022 Finnish Junior Championships, winning the bronze medal.[7]
The following month, Karhunen won gold at the 2022 Bavarian Open and silver at the 2022 Nordic Junior Championships. She then closed the season by winning gold at the 2022 Jégvirág Cup.[7]
2022–23 season: First Junior National title
Making her Junior Grand Prix series debut, Karhunen finished seventh at the 2022 JGP Poland and ninth at the 2022 JGP Italy. She then went on to win gold at the 2022 Volvo Open Cup and at the 2022 NRW Trophy. In December, she won her first junior national title at the 2023 Finnish Junior Championships.[7]
Assigned to compete at the 2023 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, Karhunen won the gold medal. She subsequently followed this up by winning gold at the 2023 Nordic Junior Championships.[7]
In late February, Karhunen competed at the 2023 World Junior Championships. She placed twenty-sixth in the short program and did not advance to the free skate segment.[7]
2023–24 season
Karhunen started her season by competing on the 2023–24 Junior Grand Prix circuit, placing fifth at 2023 JGP Austria and seventh at the 2023 JGP Hungary. She then went on to win gold at the 2023 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur, at the 2023 Volvo Open Cup, and at the 2023 Tallinn Trophy.[7]
In December, she won the junior national title at the Finnish Junior Championships for a second consecutive time.[7]
Selected to compete at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea, Karhunen finished the event in eighth place. She then closed the season by finishing fourth at the 2024 World Junior Championships.[7]
2024–25 season
Karhunen began the season by competing on the 2024–25 Junior Grand Prix series, finishing fifth at the 2024 JGP Thailand and seventh at the 2024 JGP Slovenia. She then went on to win silver at the 2024 Volvo Open Cup. A couple weeks later, she competed at the 2024 Tallinn Trophy but withdrew before the free skate. She subsequently competed at the 2024 Bosphorus Cup, finishing in fourth place.[7]
At the 2025 Finnish Junior Championships, Karhunen won the national title for a third time.[7]
In January, she won the gold medal at the 2025 Volvo Open Cup. The following month, Karhunen finished the season by winning gold at the 2025 Nordic Junior Championships and finishing eleventh at the 2025 World Junior Championships.[7]
2025–26 season: Senior debut and Milano Cortina Olympics
Moving up to the senior level, Karhunen opened her season on the 2025–26 ISU Challenger Series circuit, finishing sixth at the 2025 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and eighth at the 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy. She then followed these results up by winning gold at the 2025 Volvo Open Cup.[7]
In late November, she made her senior Grand Prix debut at the 2025 Finlandia Trophy, where she finished in sixth place. A couple weeks later, she won the silver medal at the 2025 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb.[7]
Making her senior national debut at the 2026 Finnish Championships, Karhunen won the gold medal.[7]
Selected to compete at the 2026 European Championships in January, Karhunen placed sixteenth in the short program and seventh in the free skate, finishing tenth overall.[7] "Today I feel very happy," she said following her free skate. "Of course there were some mistakes, but I’m still happy. After the short program, I was very upset, but I think I learned a lot from this competition and it will help me for the future... My family helped me the most after the disappointment. One of my sisters and one of my parents are here, and one sister is back in Finland, but that was very good support."[8] Karhunen was subsequently named to the 2026 Winter Olympic team.[9] The following week, Karhunen won the 2026 Nordic Championships.[7]
On 17 February, Karhunen competed in the short program segment at the 2026 Winter Olympics, finishing in fifteenth place. "I'm feeling very great," she shared after her performance. "It was fun to skate, and I really enjoyed it... I felt really relaxed. I don't know why. I was feeling very chill today. My whole family was there watching, both my sisters and parents."[10] Two days later, she placed seventeenth in the free skate segment and finished in sixteenth place overall.[7]
She was subsequently named as the flag bearer for Finland for the Olympic closing ceremony.[11]
Programs
| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–2026 [1] |
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| 2024–2025 [12] |
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| 2023–2024 [13] |
|
| |
| 2022–2023 [14] |
|
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| 2021–2022 [5] |
|
Competitive highlights
- GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
- JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
- CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
- WD – Withdrew from competition
| Season | 2025–26 |
|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 16th |
| World Championships | TBD |
| European Championships | 10th |
| Finnish Championships | 1st |
| GP Finland | 6th |
| CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 2nd |
| CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 6th |
| CS Trialeti Trophy | 8th |
| Nordic Championships | 1st |
| Volvo Open Cup | 1st |
| Season | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Youth Olympics | 8th | |||
| World Junior Championships | 26th | 4th | 11th | |
| Finnish Championships | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| JGP Austria | 5th | |||
| JGP Hungary | 7th | |||
| JGP Italy | 9th | |||
| JGP Poland | 7th | |||
| JGP Slovenia | 7th | |||
| JGP Thailand | 5th | |||
| Bavarian Open | 1st | |||
| Bosphorus Cup | 4th | |||
| European Youth Olympic Festival | 1st | |||
| Jégvirág Cup | 1st | |||
| Nordic Championships | 2nd | 1st | 1st | |
| NRW Trophy | 1st | |||
| Santa Claus Cup | 5th | |||
| Tallinn Trophy | 1st | WD | ||
| Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur | 1st | |||
| Volvo Open Cup | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd |
| Volvo Open Cup[a] | 1st |
- ^ 53rd Volvo Cup Open
Detailed results
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 192.79 | 2026 Winter Olympics |
| Short program | TSS | 65.06 | 2026 Winter Olympics |
| TES | 36.96 | 2024 World Junior Championships | |
| PCS | 28.84 | 2026 Winter Olympics | |
| Free skating | TSS | 127.73 | 2026 Winter Olympics |
| TES | 69.66 | 2025 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | |
| PCS | 59.30 | 2026 Winter Olympics |
Senior level
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 25–27, 2025 | 2025 CS Nebelhorn Trophy | 8 | 54.50 | 5 | 119.51 | 6 | 174.01 |
| Oct 8–11, 2025 | 2025 CS Trialeti Trophy | 7 | 56.73 | 12 | 105.58 | 8 | 162.31 |
| Nov 5–9, 2025 | 56th Volvo Open Cup | 3 | 56.69 | 1 | 119.58 | 1 | 176.27 |
| Nov 21–23, 2025 | 2025 Finlandia Trophy | 9 | 60.03 | 6 | 120.14 | 6 | 180.17 |
| Dec 3–6, 2025 | 2025 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | 4 | 60.12 | 2 | 126.93 | 2 | 187.05 |
| Dec 12–14, 2025 | 2026 Finnish Championships | 1 | 63.60 | 1 | 130.50 | 1 | 194.10 |
| Jan 13–18, 2026 | 2026 European Championships | 16 | 53.73 | 7 | 120.76 | 10 | 174.49 |
| Jan 28 – Feb 1, 2026 | 2026 Nordic Championships | 1 | 64.69 | 1 | 128.47 | 1 | 193.16 |
| Feb 17–19, 2026 | 2026 Winter Olympics | 15 | 65.06 | 17 | 127.73 | 16 | 192.79 |
Junior level
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Nov 3–7, 2021 | 44th Volvo Open Cup | 3 | 47.70 | 1 | 94.79 | 1 | 142.49 |
| Dec 6–12, 2021 | 2021 Santa Claus Cup | 3 | 61.44 | 11 | 97.09 | 5 | 158.53 |
| Dec 17–19, 2021 | 2022 Finnish Junior Championships | 2 | 55.01 | 2 | 95.54 | 3 | 150.55 |
| Jan 18–23, 2022 | 2022 Bavarian Open | 1 | 58.19 | 2 | 101.20 | 1 | 159.39 |
| Jan 27–30, 2022 | 2022 Nordic Junior Championships | 2 | 52.58 | 1 | 96.43 | 2 | 149.01 |
| Feb 11–13, 2022 | 2022 Jégvirág Cup | 1 | 56.21 | 1 | 104.57 | 1 | 160.78 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 30 – Oct 1, 2022 | 2022 JGP Poland | 9 | 57.53 | 6 | 116.22 | 7 | 173.75 |
| Oct 11–15, 2022 | 2022 JGP Italy | 9 | 55.88 | 9 | 104.11 | 9 | 159.99 |
| Nov 3–4, 2022 | 47th Volvo Open Cup | 1 | 58.96 | 1 | 112.90 | 1 | 171.86 |
| Nov 24–27, 2022 | 2022 NRW Trophy | 4 | 48.79 | 1 | 103.25 | 1 | 152.04 |
| Dec 16–18, 2022 | 2023 Finnish Junior Championships | 1 | 58.12 | 1 | 97.97 | 1 | 156.09 |
| Jan 24–26, 2023 | 2023 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival | 1 | 57.37 | 1 | 114.42 | 1 | 171.79 |
| Feb 1–5, 2023 | 2023 Nordic Junior Championships | 1 | 62.20 | 1 | 106.86 | 1 | 169.06 |
| Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2023 | 2024 World Junior Championships | 26 | 47.82 | – | – | 26 | 47.82 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Aug 30 – Sep 2, 2023 | 2023 JGP Austria | 4 | 57.88 | 5 | 103.81 | 5 | 161.69 |
| Sep 20–23, 2023 | 2023 JGP Hungary | 12 | 56.01 | 6 | 106.54 | 7 | 162.55 |
| Oct 18–22, 2023 | 2023 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur | 1 | 52.96 | 1 | 113.05 | 1 | 166.01 |
| Nov 2–5, 2023 | 50th Volvo Open Cup | 1 | 60.25 | 1 | 118.17 | 1 | 178.42 |
| Nov 21–24, 2023 | 2023 Tallinn Trophy | 10 | 46.29 | 1 | 112.81 | 1 | 159.10 |
| Dec 15–17, 2023 | 2024 Finnish Junior Championships | 1 | 57.00 | 1 | 110.48 | 1 | 167.48 |
| Jan 27 – Feb 1, 2024 | 2024 Winter Youth Olympics | 11 | 55.04 | 7 | 111.84 | 8 | 166.88 |
| Feb 26 – Mar 3, 2024 | 2024 World Junior Championships | 4 | 64.64 | 4 | 121.68 | 4 | 186.32 |
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Score | P | Score | P | Score | ||
| Sep 11–14, 2024 | 2024 JGP Thailand | 4 | 55.51 | 8 | 110.67 | 5 | 166.18 |
| Oct 2–5, 2024 | 2024 JGP Slovenia | 7 | 57.69 | 9 | 108.73 | 7 | 166.42 |
| Oct 31 – Nov 3, 2024 | 52nd Volvo Open Cup | 2 | 58.68 | 2 | 115.63 | 2 | 174.31 |
| Nov 12–17, 2024 | 2024 Tallinn Trophy | 1 | 63.74 | – | WD | – | WD |
| Nov 25 – Dec 1, 2024 | 2024 Bosphorus Cup | 3 | 58.19 | 4 | 105.05 | 4 | 163.24 |
| Dec 13–15, 2024 | 2025 Finnish Junior Championships | 1 | 61.09 | 1 | 105.70 | 1 | 166.79 |
| Jan 16–19, 2025 | 53rd Volvo Open Cup | 1 | 66.20 | 1 | 121.76 | 1 | 187.96 |
| Feb 6–9, 2025 | 2025 Nordic Junior Championships | 1 | 62.78 | 1 | 111.92 | 1 | 174.70 |
| Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2025 | 2025 World Junior Championships | 11 | 60.24 | 10 | 116.60 | 11 | 176.84 |
References
- ^ a b "Iida KARHUNEN: 2025/2026". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 6 December 2025.
- ^ a b Jäkälä, Jussi. "Väliin pudonnut huippulupaus – sääntömuutos pitää taitoluistelija Iida Karhusen, 16, junioreissa vielä tämän kauden". YLE. YLE. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ a b Dombrowski, Judith. "Finland's Iida Karhunen eyes podium in Bangkok". Golden Skate. Golden Skate. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ Goh, Z.K. "Finnish figure skating hopeful Iida Karhunen using wide sporting background to jump at Gangwon 2024". Olympics.com. Olympics.com. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Iida KARHUNEN: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022.
- ^ "Ei voi hyväksyä mitenkään". Yle (in Finnish). 2025. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "FIN–Iida Karhunen". Skating Scores. Skating Scores. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ^ "Iida KARHUNEN 🇫🇮 120.76 / 174.49". Instagram. Golden Skate. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ "Suomen Olympiakomitea on nimennyt yksinluistelija Iida Karhusen talviolympialaisiin 2026. 💙💛🖤💚❤️". Instagram. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
- ^ "Iida Karhunen 🇫🇮 65.06". X. Golden Skate. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ "Olympedia – Flagbearers for Finland". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
- ^ "Iida KARHUNEN: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024.
- ^ "Iida KARHUNEN: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Iida KARHUNEN: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Iida KARHUNEN: Competition Results". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
External links
- Iida Karhunen at the International Skating Union
- Iida Karhunen at Skating Scores
- Iida Karhunen at Milano Cortina 2026
- Iida Karhunen at Olympics.com
- Iida Karhunen at Olympedia
- Iida Karhunen at InterSportStats
- Iida Karhunen on Instagram