1. Mika Juhani Koivuniemi was born on 6 April 1967 and is a Finnish professional ten-pin bowler and bowling coach.
28 Facts About Mika Koivuniemi
1. 2.
Mika Koivuniemi competed on the Professional Bowlers Association tour in the United States, and won bowling titles in 21 different countries during his career.
3.
Mika Koivuniemi is a two-time PBA Player of the Year, one of only three players born outside the USA to win that award.
4.
Mika Koivuniemi is a member of the World Bowling Writers Hall of Fame and Finland Bowling Hall of Fame.
5.
Mika Koivuniemi was the bowling coach for the United Arab Emirates national team from 2015 through 2023.
6.
Mika Koivuniemi now competes in events on the PBA50 Tour.
7.
Mika Koivuniemi eventually became interested in bowling and made Team Finland in 1988 at age 21.
8.
Mika Koivuniemi was an exceptional bowler for Team Finland, winning the 1991 FIQ World Championship, the 1995 European Individual Cup Championship, and the 1996 World Team Cup Championship.
9.
Mika Koivuniemi has won bowling titles in 21 different countries.
10.
Mika Koivuniemi has 14 PBA titles, including three majors, and 29 career 300 games in PBA events through 2016.
11.
Mika Koivuniemi has been dubbed "The Big Finn" by ESPN commentator Randy Pedersen.
12.
On January 22,2011 Mika Koivuniemi won the PBA Tournament of Champions to capture his third PBA major title and the first prize of $250,000, the richest first-place prize in PBA tour history.
13.
Mika Koivuniemi finished as the runner-up at the 2011 US Open, which was arguably the most painful moment in his bowling career.
14.
Mika Koivuniemi had to convert and then get at least 8 pins on his fill shot.
15.
The missed spare shocked Duke as well, given that Mika Koivuniemi is known as one of the best spare converters on tour.
16.
Nonetheless, Mika Koivuniemi became the only PBA player to make the TV finals in all four majors during a single season.
17.
On December 2,2012, Mika Koivuniemi became the first European player to win the PBA-DHC Japan Cup.
18.
Mika Koivuniemi is a two-time winner of the World Bowling Tour Men's Finals.
19.
Mika Koivuniemi won his most recent WBT Men's Final on November 2,2014, defeating Sean Rash in the final match.
20.
Mika Koivuniemi announced in July 2015 that he would be retiring from full-time competitive bowling.
21.
Mika Koivuniemi later came out of retirement for selected PBA50 Tour events in 2018.
22.
Mika Koivuniemi was elected to the PBA Hall of Fame on October 1,2018.
23.
Mika Koivuniemi was officially inducted at a ceremony in Arlington, Texas on January 5,2019 and is the first European player to gain induction.
24.
Mika Koivuniemi came out of retirement in 2018 to participate in the PBA Senior US Open, a major championship on the PBA50 Tour.
25.
Mika Koivuniemi stated he will bowl in an occasional professional event when he is able to get time off from his coaching duties.
26.
Mika Koivuniemi was again the top qualifier at the 2019 PBA Senior US Open, but this time he lost the title match to Norway's Tore Torgersen in an all-Scandinavia final.
27.
Mika Koivuniemi made the top ten in all ten events he entered, made the stepladder finals eight times, and had three runner-up finishes.
28.
Mika Koivuniemi has a wife, Leena, and two children, Ida-Sofia and Lidia.