A nice gesture from the Finnish team to Mari Eder, who ended her career – Kaisa Mäkäräinen reminded the critics: “You have to listen to the voice of the heart”

Mari Eder said he was ending his career. Eder, who was one of the front pictures of Finnish biathlon, told about his decision on social media before the final race of the Biathlon World Cup in Oslo’s Holmenkollen.

Before starting the joint start race, Eder already showed the TV cameras his slightly more special competition vest, which had “See you!” written on it. and thank you!”.

In his final match, Eder shot seven missed shots and was 29th. At the finish line, a handsome welcome from the Finnish team awaited. Eder was waiting for a bottle of sparkling wine and a sheet that read “Thank you Mari!” in big letters.

Mari Eder warmly received the gesture of her teammates.

– I actually don’t remember what was written on the sheet. It’s more about the feeling that people are around. It has been a journey rich in stages. Today was a tough race. I still made it difficult with my own shots, Eder described.

Eder said that the last season of his career had gone well until the end of January and until the preparation camp for the World Cup in Oberhof. However, after the World Cup, a virus infection was found in Eder’s body. After that, the Finnish hero competed sparingly.

– I promised before the season that I would no longer push my body to the very end. I had to break my own promise. However, I wanted to try until the end of the season, Eder said.

– This race was all about ending your career. The last few weeks have been difficult. I went to fight just for this moment.

Eder had made the decision to quit before the season.

– Last spring, I wasn’t ready, even though I had made the decision to quit in a certain way. Now I have peace, confidence and understanding that I have put everything on the line. May be you with what remains below the line. I never found the consistency and certainty I was looking for. It always feels like I was the last step away from the goal. But in this moment there is peace that I can live with it, Eder said.

A reminder to reviewers from Mäkäräinen

A former Finnish biathlon star who currently works as an expert for Urheilu Kaisa Mäkäräinen recalled in Urheilustudio how he and Eder were for a long time the face of Finnish biathlon.

The two were for the first time together in the national team at the 2007 World Championships. Mäkäräinen, four years older than Eder, ended his career three years ago. In his career, Mäkäräinen won the overall World Cup three times and six World Cup medals, one of which was gold.

Eder won two World Cup races in his career. He accumulated 351 Biathlon World Cup starts.

In the prestigious championships, Eder was at his best fourth on the normal course of the 2017 World Championships. All in all, Eder participated as a biathlon skier 12 times in the World Championships and 4 times in the Olympics.

In addition, Eder represented Finland three times in cross-country skiing. Fifth place in the pair sprint at the Pyeonghchang Olympics as the best ranking Krista Pärmäkoski with.

Kaisa Mäkäräinen really appreciates Eder’s dedication.

– He got bored hearing that you had switched to cross-country skiing and sprinting. But when the passion is somewhere else, you have to know how to listen to the voice of the heart and do everything for it, Mäkäräinen reminded.

At the peak of my career, the most exciting sports moment of the year

Eder’s World Cup victories came on consecutive days at Holmenkollen in March 2017. The victories were especially exciting because the long-time coach of the biathlon national team Asko Nuutinen had died before the race weekend.

Eder’s pursuit victory and its ownership by Nuutinen was chosen as the most inspiring sports moment of the year at the 2018 Sports Gala. Eder, then known as Laukkas, pointed to the finish line as he crossed his black mourning ribbon and then towards the sky.

For Eder, World Cup victories are the best memories of his career.

– I am grateful that I got to feel what it feels like to be the best in the world in one moment. I will never forget it, Eder said.

He was a little sad that he couldn’t find a steady peak in his career.

– There were keys to winning races this season too, but I wasn’t able to do it, Eder said.

Eder was not the only biathlon star to end his career on Sunday. Norway had made the same decision Marte Olsbu Röiseland and Tiril Eckhoff and Germany Denise Herrman-Wick and France Anais Chevalier-Bouchet.

Röiseland and Chevalier-Bouchet reached the podium in the final race of their careers. Sweden won the final race of the season Hanna Öberg with one miss.

Suvi Minkkinen was 20th with two misses. Minkkinen shone in the World Championships when he was eighth in the World Championships in Oberhof. It was Finland’s best ranking in individual trips to the prestigious championships since the 2017 World Championships.

However, the future of the Finnish women’s national team continues to rest on thin shoulders.

Along with Eder, he ended his career in the Finnish team Nastassia Kinnunen in Saturday’s sprint race.

According to Mäkäräinen, Eder leaves a big void in Finnish biathlon.

– Next year, Finnish women will have five places. I started to think, do we even have five World Cup-level women at the starting line? Mäkäräinen pondered in the Sports Studio.

– Yes, there are always athletes, but what is the level? Mari has been an athlete for a long time, who has had enough skiing speed. It enables a top result. At the end of the season, we saw that you don’t get as high on the results list when your physical fitness is lower.