Mika Kaljunen took part in 1998 in Jericho in his first Junior World Championships in biathlon and was 38th in the individual. Things went much better in Pokljuka a year later . The Finn won the silver medal behind the outstanding athlete of the championships, the Norwegian Syver Berg-Domås, and was also sixth in the sprint, seventh in the pursuit and eighth in the relay. At the beginning of the 2000/01 season Kaljunen made his debut in Hochfilzen in the Biathlon World Cup and was 86th of an individual. The first highlight of the season was the 2001 European Biathlon Championships in Haute-Maurienne , where he finished 15th in the individual, 37th in the sprint and failed to finish in the pursuit. In Pokljuka he was used shortly after at the Biathlon World Championships in 2001 for the first time at a World Cup, but did not finish in his use in the individual. In 2002 he was used again in Kontiolahti at the European Championships and was 39th of the sprint, 41st of the pursuit and with Ville Raikkonen , Ville Kotikumpu and Olli-Pekka Peltola fifth in the relay competition. A year later, the 2003 biathlon world championships in Khanty-Mansiysk were the highlight of the season, when the Finn came in 82nd place. In 2004 Kaljunen took part in the Military World Ski Championships in Östersund and was there 30th in the sprint and 17th in the military patrol.
Since 2004 Kaljunen has mostly participated in the races of the European Cup. The next major event was the 2006 Military World Ski Championships in Andermatt with a 21st place in the sprint as a result. In 2007 there was a 12th rank with the military patrol in Võru . In 2007 , the Finn took part in his third world championships in Antholz , where he was 99th in the individual and 79th in the sprint. In the further course of the season he started at the Summer Biathlon World Championships 2007 in Otepää , where he was 26th of the sprint and 21st of the pursuit on roller skis . In 2008 the Finn was at the European Championships in Nové Město na Moravě 37th of the individual, 34th of the sprint and 32nd of the pursuit. At the military ski world championships in Hochfilzen in 2008 Kaljunen came in 19th place, was tenth in the team with Timo Antila and Mika Hakala and 12th with the military patrol. In the cross-country skiing race over 15-kilometer freestyle, he did not finish. In the 2008/09 season he reached Trondheim with a 41st place in the sprint, his best result in the World Cup and only missed a place in the World Cup points by one place. Also in the IBU Cup the Finn reached in the season with fifth place in a sprint in Ridnaun his best result.
Biathlon World Cup placements
The table shows all placements (depending on the year, including the Olympic Games and World Championships).
1st - 3rd Place: Number of podium placements
Top 10: Number of placements in the top ten (including podium)
Points ranks: Number of placements within the point ranks (including podium and top 10)
Starts: Number of races run in the respective discipline
Finland
