# Finland at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Finland competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016. They earned three medals, one gold, one silver and one bronze.

## Disability classifications

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis. Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities, other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.

## Medalists

| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Class | Date |
| Gold | Leo-Pekka Tähti | Athletics | Men's 100 metres | T54 | 17 September |
| Silver | Marjaana Heikkinen | Athletics | Women's javelin throw | F34 | 9 September |
| Bronze | Henry Manni | Athletics | Men's 100 metres | T34 | 13 September |

## Finnish Paralympic team

The Finnish Paralympic team consists of 26 athletes and 2 guide athletes, who compete in 11 sports. Chef de mission is Kimmo Mustonen.
Competitors from Finland per sport :
| Sport | Men | Women | Total | Guides |
| Archery | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Athletics | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| Cycling | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Equestrian | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Goalball | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Paratriathlon | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Powerlifting | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sailing | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Shooting | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Swimming | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Table tennis | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 19 | 7 | 26 | 2 |

## Archery

Jere Forsberg earned Finland a spot at the Rio Games following his performance at the 2015 World Archery Para Championships. He qualified the country after his performance in the compound men's open. Jean Pierre Antonios earned Finland a second qualifying spot after making the round of eight in the W1 men event.
| Athlete | Event and classification | Ranking round | Ranking round | 1/16 Eliminations | 1/8 Eliminations | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | Final rank |
| Athlete | Event and classification | Score | Rank | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Final rank |
| Jean-Pierre Antonios | Men's individual compound W1 | 594 | 12 | — | Walker (GBR) L 131–123 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | 9 |
| Jere Forsberg | Men's individual compound open | 672 | 10 | Dudka (POL) W 141–136 | Simonelli (ITA) L 136–140 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | 9 |
Legend: W = win, L = loss

## Athletics
### Track and road events

| Athlete | Event and classification | Round 1 | Round 1 | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event and classification | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Henry Manni | Men's 100 metres T34 | 15.78 SB | 3 Q | — | — | 15.46 PB | |
| Henry Manni | Men's 800 metres T34 | 1:47.51 | 6 Q | — | — | 1:41.92 RR | 4 |
| Esa-Pekka Mattila | Men's 100 metres T54 | 15.07 SB | 11 | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Amanda Kotaja | Women's 100 metres T54 | 16.76 | 6 Q | — | — | 16.47 | 6 |
| Amanda Kotaja | Women's 400 metres T54 | 59.17 SB | 10 | — | — | did not advance | did not advance |
| Ronja Oja Guide: Jesper Oja | Women's 100 metres T11 | 13.39 NR | 13 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
| Toni Piispanen | Men's 100 metres T51 | — | — | — | — | 22.02 | 4 |
| Toni Piispanen | Men's 400 metres T51 | — | — | — | — | 1:30.27 | 6 |
| Leo-Pekka Tähti | Men's 100 metres T54 | 14.00 | 1 Q | — | — | 13.90 | |
Legend: SB = season best, Q = qualified by place, PB = personal best, RR = European record, NR = Finnish record

### Field events

| Athlete | Event and classification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event and classification | Result | Rank |
| Marjaana Heikkinen | Women's javelin throw F34 | 18.42 SB | |
| Marjaana Heikkinen | Women's shot put F34 | 6.26 | 7 |
| Ronja Oja Guide: Jesper Oja | Women's long jump T11 | 4.30 =PB | 9 |
Legend: SB = season best, PB = personal best

## Cycling

With one pathway for qualification being one highest ranked NPCs on the UCI Para-Cycling male and female Nations Ranking Lists on 31 December 2014, Finland qualified for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, assuming they continued to meet all other eligibility requirements.
| Athlete | Event and classification | Time | Rank |
| Jarmo Ollanketo Pilot: Tommi Martikainen | Men's road race B | 2:32:09 | 10 |
| Jarmo Ollanketo Pilot: Tommi Martikainen | Men's road time trial B | 36:39.83 | 9 |
| Jani Peltopuro | Men's road race H3 | 1:39:25 | 8 |
| Jani Peltopuro | Men's road time trial H3 | 32:32.81 | 10 |

## Equestrian

The country earned an individual slot via the Para Equestrian Individual Ranking List Allocation method.
| Athlete | Horse | Event and grade | Total | Total |
| Athlete | Horse | Event and grade | Score | Rank |
| Katja Karjalainen | Woikoski High Flow | Individual championship test grade Ia | 71.043 | 7 |
| Katja Karjalainen | Woikoski High Flow | Individual Freestyle test grade Ia | 71.850 | 7 |

## Goalball

The Finland men's national goalball team qualified for the Rio Games after finishing second at the 2014 IBSA Goalball World Championships. Finnish women failed to qualify at the 2014 World Championships, finishing two spots out of medal contention in fifth place at the home hosted event. Finland's men enter the tournament ranked 6th in the world.
The following is the Finland roster in the men's goalball tournament of the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
| Team | Event | Preliminary | Preliminary | Preliminary | Preliminary | Preliminary | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Gold / Bronze | Rank |
| Team | Event | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank |
| Finland men's | Men's tournament | Lithuania (LTU) L 6–13 | Turkey (TUR) L 5–8 | United States (USA) L 2–6 | China (CHN) W 11–7 | 5 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | 9 |
Legend: W = win, L = loss

## Paratriathlon

| Athlete | Event and classification | Swim (750 m) | Swim (750 m) | Transition 1 | Transition 1 | Bike (22.28 km) | Bike (22.28 km) | Transition 2 | Transition 2 | Run (5.0 km) | Run (5.0 km) | Total Time | Rank |
| Athlete | Event and classification | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Total Time | Rank |
| Liisa Lilja | Women's PT2 | 13:00 | 4 | 2:23 | 4 | 43:43 | 4 | 1:21 | 5 | 25:34 | 2 | 1:26:01 | 4 |

## Powerlifting

| Athlete | Event | Best lift (kg) | Rank |
| Juhani Kokko | Men's 59 kg | 145 | 6 |

## Sailing

One pathway for qualifying for Rio involved having a boat have top seven finish at the 2015 Combined World Championships in a medal event where the country had nor already qualified through via the 2014 IFDS Sailing World Championships. Finland qualified for the 2016 Games under this criterion in the 2.4m event with a thirteenth-place finish overall and the third country who had not qualified via the 2014 Championships. The boat was crewed by Niko Salomaa.
| Athlete | Event | Points per Race | Points per Race | Points per Race | Points per Race | Points per Race | Points per Race | Points per Race | Points per Race | Points per Race | Points per Race | Points per Race | Net points | Final rank |
| Athlete | Event | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Net points | Final rank |
| Niko Salomaa | 1-Person Keelboat (2.4mR) | 9 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 79 | 8 |
Legend: 14 = excluded score

## Shooting

The first opportunity to qualify for shooting at the Rio Games took place at the 2014 IPC Shooting World Championships in Suhl. Shooters earned spots for their NPC. Finland earned a qualifying spot at this competition in the R5 – 10m Air Rifle Prone Mixed SH2 event as a result of the performance of Minna Sinikka Leinonen.
| Athlete | Event and classification | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event and classification | Points | Rank | Points | Rank |
| Minna Leinonen | Mixed 10 metre air rifle prone SH2 | 630.9 | 18 | did not advance | did not advance |

## Swimming

| Athlete | Event and classification | Heats | Heats | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event and classification | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Antti Latikka | Men's 50m Freestyle S13 | 26.22 | 16 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Antti Latikka | Men's 100m Backstroke S13 | 1:01.93 | 5 Q | 1:02.84 | 6 |
| Antti Latikka | Men's 100m Butterfly S13 | 1:03.72 | 17 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Antti Latikka | Men's 200m Individual Medley SM13 | 2:23.70 | 13 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Leo Lähteenmäki | Men's 50 metre freestyle S9 | 26.74 | 10 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Leo Lähteenmäki | Men's 100 metre butterfly S9 | 1:09.43 | 14 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Leo Lähteenmäki | Men's 100 metre freestyle S9 | 59.08 | 15 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Meri-Maari Mäkinen | Women's 50m Butterfly S7 | 44.52 | 10 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Meri-Maari Mäkinen | Women's 100m Backstroke S7 | 1:39.56 | 14 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Meri-Maari Mäkinen | Women's 100m Breaststroke SB7 | 1:59.79 | 11 | did not advance | did not advance |
| Meri-Maari Mäkinen | Women's 200m Individual Medley SM7 | Disqualified | Disqualified | did not advance | did not advance |
Legend: Q = qualified for the next phase

## Table tennis

| Athlete | Event and classification | Preliminaries | Preliminaries | Preliminaries | Round 1 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | Rank |
| Athlete | Event and classification | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Esa Miettinen | Men's individual C9 | Cabestany (FRA) L 0–3 | Last (NED) L 2–3 | 3 | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance | did not advance |
Legend: L = loss