The former head coach believes that women’s combined will get Olympic status and in a few years will be a completely credible top sport.
The new compact race, which shrinks even the big differences on the hill section to a few seconds, has been looking for a Finnish name in the beginning of the season. Long-time head coach of the men’s national team Petter Kukkonen finally comes up with a proposal.
– Handicap competition is a good name, says Kukkonen, who finished his work as head coach in 2022.
“10-15 good”
The competition format developed by the International Skiing Federation’s sports committee is regarded in the inner circles of the combined mainly as a precision weapon for Norway Jarl Magnus Riiberin to break the superiority. Riiber often takes a nap on the hill section, thanks to which you can straighten your back on the ski section already after the halfway point and save energy.
– Yes, Riiber was most obviously thought of, but as a side product we got a competition format that is perfectly suited for women, this is where the evolution of the sport comes into play.
The women’s combined is for 16-year-olds Minja Korhonen thanks to good performances, it has become more familiar even to Finnish winter sports fans since the beginning of the season. Kukkonen urges to follow the sport with an open mind.
– Even in women’s ski jumping, we saw the beginning of a phenomenon where the top ten could jump well and the rest not so much. Now the sport is an integral part of the top sports package of the Nordic Winter Sports. Now there are 10-15 good athletes at the top of the combined group before the differences in level are torn apart. This stage lasts for a few years. And for this seam, handicap competition is perfect for women.
Olympic status is decisive
According to Kukkonen, the decisive thing for the sport is Olympic status, which women can get for the 2030 Games. At the World Championships 2021, there was one combined competition for women, in Planica last winter there were already two. It is also essential to remember that without women’s participation, men’s Olympic status and thus the existence of the sport as a whole was threatened.
– I encourage girls to try the sport. It does not offer 300 million euro pots from Saudi Arabia, but the deep and good values of sport, says Kukkonen, who works as an expert at Urheilu.
In everyday life, Kukko is employed by the sports services industry of the city of Jyväskylä and especially the development of Laajavuori’s sports infrastructure, which was stagnant in the 1980s.
in Jyväskylä has spoken especially the need for repairs of around five million euros for the jumping hills at Laajavuori. Today, about 40 athletes practice hill jumping in the city. In this group, Kukkonen also hopes for confirmation from the combined girl enthusiasts.
– I also completely understand the critical viewpoints when it comes to tax money. The repair of the hills must definitely be linked to the versatile development of the entire area, in which case it would also prove to be meaningful.
For a few years, the spearhead of Jyväskylä’s sports venue development has been the two-hundred-million-euro Hippos project.
– If we could get even five percent of that amount for the development of Laajavuori, the whole area would look like a 2020s paradise for ordinary city dwellers and athletes.