Kalle Markus Palander (born May 2, 1977 in Tornio ) is a former Finnish ski racer and so far the only male Finn who has won World Cup races. He specialized in the disciplines of slalom and giant slalom and was one of the best runners in the world. In total, he won 14 World Cup victories. His greatest successes were the world title in slalom in 1999 and winning the slalom world cup in the 2002/03 season .
Since the Austrian Christian Leitner took over the training of the Finnish national ski team in 1998, the performances of the Finnish ski racers have increased steadily. The best racer from this group was Kalle Palander, who surprisingly became the slalom world champion at the 1999 World Championships in Vail . Palander made his final breakthrough in the 2002/03 season when he won the Slalom World Cup. Palander won a total of 14 world cup races (10 slaloms and 4 giant slaloms ) and was on the podium 30 times. In 2003 he won the Slalom World Cup, in 2004 and 2006 he was second in this classification. In 2004 he also made it onto the podium in second place in the giant slalom World Cup.
In the meantime, Palander's career was repeatedly accompanied by injuries. So he had to pause the entire 2008/09 season - with the exception of two FIS races in April - and the entire 2009/10 season. The comeback in the 2010/11 season proved difficult. Although he was able to win a giant slalom in the European Cup, he did not finish in the top 20 in any of the World Cup races. At the start of the 2011/12 season in Sölden, Palander injured his knee again, after which he had to take another season off. In September 2012 he announced his retirement from active racing.
Her marriage to Riina-Maija Palander had four children. In 2011 the family acquired the Estonian manor Ontika , which they renovated and converted into a hotel in the following years.
Finland
