He won two FIS races in his career, both in the winter of 1994/95. But he was particularly successful with the Finnish relay. In 1986 he won the bronze medal with the relay at the Junior World Championships in Lake Placid . At the 1988 Olympic Games , the Finns finished eighth. In 1989 at the Nordic World Ski Championships , the relay won silver. At the World Championships in 1991 and the Olympic Games in 1992 and 1994 , the Finns took bronze. At the 1995 and 1997 World Championships , the relay won silver, behind the Norwegians. In the World Cup he won third place with the relay in February 1992, in March 1994 in Lahti the first place with the relay, in February 1995 in Falun the second place with the relay and in January 1997 in Lahti the second place together with Ari Palolahti in team sprint. His best individual placement in the World Cup was fifth over 15 km freestyle at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti in 1989. In the 1993/94 season he achieved his best overall result with 13th place in the overall World Cup
In 1998 the Finnish news agency STT reported that Räsänen had been doping with growth hormones , but no evidence could be presented. In 2011, however, Räsänen was sentenced by a Helsinki court to one year suspended prison sentence for blood doping fraud "at least in the 1996/97 season". His father was the cross-country skier Veikko Räsänen .
Finland
