The days of success for Finnish hill jumpers are so long ago that it is easy to forget how long it has been since the last World Cup podium place achieved by a Finnish man. It is from the hill week of 2014, when Anssi Koivuranta jumped to victory in the one-lap race in Innsbruck.
The weak success of the Finns has been lamented for a long time, but in the World Cup flying hill race in Oberstdorf last March, it was seen that the top ranking is no longer dependent on very big things. Found a great mood at the end of the season Eetu Nousiainen was second in the last race of the weekend after the opening round.
In the second round, the flight was not quite enough for a prize place, but the result was still the best World Cup ranking of his career: eighth.
– I had the worst wind gap in the second round. When you watch the video of that jump, you can see that there was no pressure under the skis on the hill. There was room for an even better investment. It depends on so many small things that anything can happen.
At that time, the 25-year-old Finn found the best hill climb of his career. He had been 15th in Ober’s first race. In the Lahti World Cup before Oberstdorf, he was 18th. Before last season, Nousiainen’s best career ranking was 25th in December 2017.
In Nousiainen’s development story, the competition series Continental Cup has dictated a significant role.
Insight in the tower
The Continental Cup is the second highest competition tour in ski jumping after the World Cup. According to Nousiainen, competing in the Continental Cup in Finland is often translated as getting there.
– I wanted to tour the Continental Cup. It’s not a punishment of any kind. Finnish ski jumping should invest more in that.
– The World Cup is such a tough place that it’s not worth going there to learn. I was there myself for three years and I was banging my head against the wall, Nousiainen says.
The competition in hill jumping has become even more intense in recent years. At the same time, the Continental Cup competitions have also become tougher competitions. Last year, Slovenia took part in the competition of that event Ziga Jelarwho achieved his first World Cup victory at the end of the season.
– The athletes in the top 10-15 are those who are in the second round of the World Cup by throwing. I have been able to learn there what can and cannot be done in the race.
– When I was second in Ober after the first round, it was good for me to be before the second jump. I thought in the tower that I have been in this situation before. In the Continental Cup, I have been in the lead, second and third, Nousiainen opens his insight.
An underrated race tour
The head coach of the Mäkimaa team who witnessed Nousiainen’s growth up close Janne Väätäinen sees the Continental Cup as extremely important for the development of a young jumper. He also considers the FIS Cup, which is smaller than the Continental Cup, a good place for growth.
– Especially when we go to Central Europe, the biggest countries have to field tough teams in every competition. That’s the kind of road that a young athlete has to walk and wade through. You have to develop little by little and learn the competition system.
Väätäinen admits that the Continental Cup has been underestimated in Finland in the past. On the other hand, a long time ago, the situation was completely different, when top success came in the darkest of clouds and the top was wide.
Nowadays, it is difficult to see where the international top is going at the Finnish Games.
– We had a lot of talent in the 1980s and 1990s. At that time, our level was so high that a guy who did well in his home country was close to the top of the world. That was the way back then. However, the world is changing.
– We know where Finnish ski jumping has gone in the last ten years. The old model no longer works. The road must be covered from beginning to end, Väätäinen adds.
Olympic silver medal through the Continental Cup
Hurry. In elite sports, there is often a rush for the bright lights. Few are immediately ready to perform at the absolute top level.
– I have watched other athletes struggle with themselves. Not to be ready for a certain race, but let’s go and take the snow in the house properly, so much that the taste for work is lost. In Finland, the Continental Cup is not valued in any way.
– I’ve been asked many times how it feels when I didn’t get to tour the World Cup. I didn’t want to! I didn’t feel that it made any sense, Nousiainen taps.
Nousiainen, who will be jumping at the opening of the ski jumping world cup season in Poland’s Wisla this weekend, reminds that from the Continental cup he has also risen to the top of the sport. Even with short notice.
– I toured the Continental Cup a year ago in the summer and was fourth in the overall cup. Austria won the cup Manuel Fettner, who took the silver medal from last winter’s Olympics. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s such a bad cup. It’s just not highly regarded.
Evenness
Nousiainen was a promising 15th in the last race of the summer GP in Klingenthal.
– I was nowhere near my own training level in any summer GP race. However, I was in the second round in every race and it was the best summer in terms of results. It is good to leave for winter.
The athlete himself does not want to set any specific fixed point for the coming winter.
– To continue from where last season ended. I’m not going to set any performance goals. Last season had a similar mindset. When I stopped thinking about the result, the jump started to go. Let’s go enjoy.
Named ski jumping and combined sports leader last spring Mika Kojonkoski can give a more concrete answer about what you can expect from Nousiainen in the season that is about to begin.
– I think it is realistic to expect that he will be able to constantly jump into the top 30. It means that at that level the difference to the top is very small. On a good day, he can be in the top 10-15.