Riikka Lehtonen

Riikka Lehtonen

2005/06 in Bergamo
portrait
birthday	July 24, 1979
place of birth	Kangasala, Finland
size	1.83 m
Indoor volleyball
position	External attack / adoption
societies
1995–1998 1998–1999 1999–2001 2001–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008 2008–2009 2009–2010 2010–2011 2011–2012 2012 2013 2013	Oriveden Ponnistus Euran Raiku La Rochette Volley RC Cannes Minetti Vicenza Foppapedretti Bergamo Vilingili Maldives NEC Tokyo Vakıfbank Güneş Sigorta İstanbul Riso Scotti Pavia Olympiakos Piraeus Sirio Perugia Igtisadchi Baku Rebecchi Piacenza Bakenza Crema Volley LP Kangasala Azerrail
National team
1996-2011	A national team
successes
1997 - Finnish champion 1998 - Finnish runner-up in 1999 - Finnish champion 1996–1998 - Finnish cup winner 2001–2006 - Finnish volleyball player of the year 2002–2004 - French champion 2002 - French cup finalist 2002 - Champions League winner 2003 - Champions League winner 2003, 2004 - French Cup Winner 2006 - Italian Champion 2006 - Italian Cup Winner 2008 - Winner Challenge Cup 2012 - Finnish Cup Winner
beach volleyball
Partner	Saara Loikkanen 2007 Tanja Eteläaho 2011–2017 Taru Lahti 2016–2017 Anniina Parkkinen since 2018 Niina Ahtiainen
World ranking	Item 36
successes
1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018 - Finnish champion 2000 - Finnish beach volleyball player of the year 2015 - Ninth Major Poreč 2015 - Ninth European Games 2015 - Ninth Grand Slam Olsztyn 2015 - Fourth Sochi Open 2016 - Second Open Antalya 2016 - Ninth Grand Slam Moscow 2016 - Ninth Major Poreč 2016 - Ninth Major Gstaad 2016 - Winner CEV Satellite Kisakallio 2017 - Ninth 5-Star Poreč 2017 - Ninth World Cup 2018 - Fifth 4-Star Den Haag 2018 - European Ninth 2018 - Fifth 3-star Tokyo
Status: July 20, 2019

Riikka Hannele Lehtonen (born July 24, 1979 in Kangasala ) is a Finnish volleyball and beach volleyball player . She is the most successful player in Finnish indoor volleyball to date.

Career hall

Lehtonen (center) in a game with Bergamo

Lehtonen began her career with Oriveden Ponnistus. In 1996 she made her debut for the Finnish national team at the age of 17 . The following season she won the Finnish championship. She also won three cups from 1996 to 1998. After the second place in the championship in 1998 there was the next title win in 1999. Then Lehtonen went from Euran Raiku to the French club La Rochette Volley. In 2001 she moved to RC Cannes within France . Lehtonen, who was named Finland's volleyball player of the year every year from 2001 to 2006, celebrated further titles with the club. Cannes became national champions three times in a row from 2002 to 2004 and won the trophy twice after losing the final in 2002. The greatest successes were in European competition. Cannes won the Volleyball Champions League in 2002 and successfully defended the title the following season. In 2004 the club was third in the Champions League.

From 2004 to 2006 Lehtonen was active in Italy for one season each with Minetti Vicenza and Foppapedretti Bergamo . With Bergamo she was Italian champion and cup winner in 2006. After the season she played another month in the Maldives for Vilingili Maldives. She then moved to the Japanese first division club NEC Tokyo . In the 2007/08 season she won the Challenge Cup with the Turkish club Vakıfbank Güneş Sigorta İstanbul .

In 2008 Lehtonen first played in Italy for Riso Scotti Pavia . In December, however, she moved to Olympiacos Piraeus . 2009/10 she was again active in the Italian league with Sirio Perugia . Then she was signed by Igtisadchi Baku and came to Azerbaijan as the first Finnish player.

In 2011/12 she played for Rebecchi Piacenza . In 2012, Lehtonen moved to Crema Volley within the Italian league . At the end of the year, however, the club was insolvent and the Finn returned to her home country to LP Kangasala. With the club she won the Finnish Cup. A few months later she moved to Azerbaijan to Azerrail Baku . In the spring she contracted bone necrosis in her knee and had to take a long break.

Career Beach

Lehtonen at the block on the network

Lehtonen has played beach volleyball on a national level since the mid-1990s. With Saara Loikkanen she became Finnish champion in 1998 and 1999. In 2000 Lehtonen was voted Finnish beach volleyball player of the year . After the 2001 season, she took a break from playing the beach in favor of her international indoor career. Lehtonen played their first international beach tournament in Turku in 2006 . In 2007 she performed with Tanja Eteläaho and reached 25th place at the Åland Open. In 2011 she formed a new duo with Taru Lahti . The first joint appearance in Åland was still unsuccessful. In the same year they won the Finnish championship. In 2012 Lehtonen / Lahti came in 41st place at the Grand Slam in Stare Jabłonki . In Åland they finished 25th. In August 2012, the Finnish Federation announced that it would intensify its beach volleyball efforts in order to be represented at the 2016 Olympic Games ; Lehtonen should play a leading role in this. In 2014 Lehtonen / Lahti finished seventh and fifth in two CEV tournaments in Antalya and Baden . In Quartu Sant'Elena they took part in the European Championship , but were eliminated after three defeats in the preliminary round. In the following years Lehtonen / Lahti played with varying success on the European and World Tour. After finishing ninth at the 2017 World Cup in Vienna , the two separated.

Niina Ahtiainen , who is 17 years her junior, has been Lehtonen's partner since 2018 .

Web links

CV LinkedIn (English)
Profile at legavolleyfemminile.it
Profile at the world association FIVB (English)
Profile in the Beach Volleyball Database (English)

Individual evidence

↑ FIVB world rankings (as of July 15, 2019)
↑ ^a ^b ^c AZE W: Riikka Lehtonen will miss the rest of the season. World of Volley, April 4, 2013, accessed June 4, 2014 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Lentopalloilija Riikka Lehtosen tuskainen kevät. Helsingin Sanomat, April 12, 2013, accessed June 4, 2014 (Finnish).
↑ Suomeen on perustettu beach volleyn ammattilaistalli, jonka tavoitteena on nostaa laji kansainväliselle huipulle, ja saavuttaa olympiamitali Rio de Janeiron kisoista 2016. lentopalloliitto.fi, August 8, 2012, accessed June 4, 2014 (Finnish).

personal data
SURNAME	Lehtonen, Riikka
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Lehtonen, Riikka Hannele
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Finnish volleyball and beach volleyball player
DATE OF BIRTH	July 24, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kangasala , Finland

[1] FIVB world rankings (as of July 15, 2019)

[WOV-2] AZE W: Riikka Lehtonen will miss the rest of the season. World of Volley, April 4, 2013, accessed June 4, 2014 .

[HS-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Lentopalloilija Riikka Lehtosen tuskainen kevät. Helsingin Sanomat, April 12, 2013, accessed June 4, 2014 (Finnish).

[4] Suomeen on perustettu beach volleyn ammattilaistalli, jonka tavoitteena on nostaa laji kansainväliselle huipulle, ja saavuttaa olympiamitali Rio de Janeiron kisoista 2016. lentopalloliitto.fi, August 8, 2012, accessed June 4, 2014 (Finnish).