Riitta-Liisa Roponen will compete in the Jällivaara World Cup in Sweden this weekend. shows the competitions on its channels. Watch the live broadcasts at this link.
Riitta-Liisa Roponen makes history today, because he will become the oldest athlete to compete in the World Cup of Skiing, when he starts the 10 km freestyle intermediate start race in Jällivaara.
Roponen is 45 years and 210 days old today. While many people of that age mainly focus on growing fat sausages around their waists, Riitta-Liisa Roponen is still in top shape and challenges her younger peers equally. How is it possible?
An expert in sports physiology at the Institute of Top Sports KIHU Esa Hynynen according to Roposen’s current situation, the condition the athlete was in two years ago has a lot to do with it.
– At that point, he was skiing on top of the world and hasn’t been left lying on the bottom of the couch ever since. He has still been training a lot, but probably without much pressure, says Hynynen.
Roponen announced in the spring of 2022 that he would end his international skiing career, but by no means stopped competing. She has continued to practice actively and is her husband Toni Roposen have trained briskly for more than 800 hours during the past year and 92 hours in November, although without a training program.
Even if Roponen had reduced his training by half after the second spring, he would still have remained in great shape, because both his basic condition and physical performance have been brought to a tough level over the years.
– Often in the race season after quitting, you can ski some races at least at the same level or even with the freshest strength, because there hasn’t been that hard race that would tire the body, Hynynen says.
The experienced gives a handicap to the younger in one matter
When an athlete gets older, big power outputs and speed are the first to decline. However, the durability remains longer. Esa Hynynen reminds that the 45-year-old athlete has a lot of experience advantage.
An experienced skier knows how to adapt, for example, his technique, power transmission or ski control to different conditions. In addition, an experienced athlete knows his body in a competition situation and knows how to get the most out of it.
– A 25-year-old athlete cannot possibly have such experience in a competition situation. Since we are still involved in instrumental sports and in changing conditions, the experience is very useful.
Compared to competitors twenty years younger, the four-wheel drive loses in recovery from load. If an older athlete doesn’t listen to his body, but eats too much, the fatigue is easily severe.
– However, we must remember that we are individuals. Where one 45-year-old can still bang at a very hard level, the other can no longer cope so well. For some, those hard hours and kilometers come to an end sooner, Hynynen states.
Toni Roponen has been his wife’s coach for twenty years, today Riitta-Liisa is a ski coach herself in her own company. In Toni Roposen’s opinion, Riitta-Liisa has always been a smart intern, but now she does it from her own starting point.
– Today, his calendar is filled with meetings with friends and normal everyday life, Toni Roponen says.
The huge competitive spirit has not dimmed
Riitta-Liisa Roponen has played sports all her life and enjoys moving, playing sports, and exercising. His competitive spirit has not dimmed with age. Last summer, he made a strong result in, among other things, long trail running events.
However, according to Toni Ropose, the skier never had the goal of returning to the World Cup.
– When he announced his participation a few days before Olo, I realized that he has a huge passion for competition. However, the alternative was to come watch the Levi Alpine Skiing World Cup with me and take it a bit more relaxed. However, he wanted to go and beat himself up in Olos, Toni Roponen laughs.
Riitta-Liisa Roponen was the best Finn in the 10 km freestyle skiing competition in Olos.
Riitta-Liisa Roponen has had a long career and has been very successful internationally. According to Toni Ropose, the athlete could have achieved even better results, but in the best times of his career, he was not able to train as much as he might have wanted.
– At that time her number one priority was motherhood. Now that the child is an adult, he has more time to spend on sports as well.
Age is not a burden in endurance sports
Sports expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen in my opinion, the age of athletes is looked at too often. Age is not a burden, especially in endurance sports, quite the opposite. For example, a multiple medalist of the prestigious competition, an Italian Maurilio de Zolt rose to the international top only when he was over 30 years old. Norwegian Hilde G. Pedersen again won the first and at the same time the only individual World Cup competition of his career as well as his last prestigious medal at the age of 41.
– Of course, it is exceptional that an athlete of that age is involved, but nowadays it can be seen that sports careers are getting longer, especially for women, says Saarinen.
Saarinen reminds that Roponen is a very talented skier who has been doing basic work for a long time. Now he has also been able to invest clearly in trips that suit him.
– He competes sensibly and chooses the competitions in which he makes a result.
Saarinen believes that Roponen will be able to help the athletes of the national team by his own example and take the pressure of success away from the younger ones during the race weekend in Jällivaara.
– Sharing tacit information is really important, and when a skier like that is involved, that tacit information is inevitably exchanged between the athletes.
Both Saarinen and Hynynen believe that Roponen now enjoys training and competing more when he can do it on his own terms. If one day he got too tired, he didn’t have to do the exercises that might have been planned.
– He has no pressure, because he has already shown his skills and abilities. It seems that when he has relaxed for training and doing, it has only brought more momentum, says Aino-Kaisa Saarinen.
In Toni Roposen’s opinion, Riitta-Liisa Roponen is a perfect example for all young people that dedication, desire and passion to do things right is the most decisive thing.
– He is an excellent example of the fact that you can influence where you seek experiences of success. I don’t have any expectations for the weekend, but knowing “Ritu” she wouldn’t leave if she didn’t put everything in the box and feel that it feels good.