Kalle Palander painted a harsh picture of the Finnish alpine sensation – “When there was no Spede from Finland” | Sport

Kalle Palander demands that the umbrella organization of alpine skiing immediately ensure that Elian Lehto, who was extremely successful in Kitzbühel, can continue to cooperate with the Swiss national team.

The big Finnish sensation of the alpine skiing season Elian Lehto23, joined the big boys club of downhill skiing on Friday and Saturday at Streif, a classic slope in Kitzbühel, Austria.

Lehto finished 11th in the World Cup competition twice in a row, which is the all-time Finnish bet in the king of alpine skiing.

In the World Cup Riitta Ollikka was at its best tenth 51 years ago. In men, the best Finnish World Cup ski jumping performance before Lehto was Andreas Romarin place 14, in Schladming 11 years ago.

Sports expert, slalom world champion Kalle Palander didn’t mince his words when evaluating the young Lapland’s bets in the most prestigious downhill events of the alpine season.

200,000 euros

Lehto prepared for this season already for the second time in a row, even in the speed sports, with the rock-hard Swiss national team at the so-called buying place, which costs the sports organization Ski Sport Finland and the athlete a total of about 200,000 euros, including all related expenses. A sports organization cannot establish an expensive speed sports project for the needs of only one athlete.

According to Palander, this fruitful Swiss pattern is the single most significant explanation for what has been seen this season.

In the two competitions in Kitzbühel, Lehto won no less than ten different Swiss competitors, which according to Palander is both brilliant – and a clear threat for the future.

– I would immediately put severe pressure on Ski Sport Finland to negotiate an extension to Switzerland for Elian right away until the spring of the Olympic year (2026).

“Charity”

The opportunity Lehto gets is not, especially in a alpine skiing mega-country like Switzerland, any kind of automation.

– In the name of honesty, from Switzerland’s point of view, it’s mainly about charity, they don’t need that kind of money for anything. For Koutsei, Elian has been a great man to the extent that, as a very good trainer, he has often left the locals with silverware. Since then, the coaches have been good at supporting the calculators, that you then lost to the Finns.

Palander has heard from his own sources that Lehto is a very well-liked athlete among athletes and coaches, but:

– Now that it’s been seen that he wasn’t just a Spede from Finland, but an absolute top scorer, what’s next? It doesn’t take more than one big confederation’s or the Olympic committee’s pompous order that it doesn’t make sense for us to grind a diamond on a guy who is a threat to our own success.

International cooperation has been mandatory for the few Finnish speed sports entrepreneurs aiming for the top. Andreas Romar received help from Germany, Janne Leskinen from the USA.

– But the threshold to train with the Swiss, let alone the Austrians, has been impossible, and that’s why I was even surprised by Elian’s treatment.

Fighter and helicopter

Lehto finished 11th twice outside the hot group with starting numbers 37 and 38.

– Now he will be among the 30, which in downhill does not have the same importance related to the condition of the track as in technical sports. Instead, the low starting number is a symbol of the fact that he is now a new member of the family of big and really egotistical speed boys. That family is its own chapter in the alpine circus.

Palander presents a metaphor:

– They see themselves as fighter pilots, and slalomers think they are helicopter pilots.

At the same time, Lehto rose to 23rd place in the men’s diving cup, while the 25 best in the overall competition get to the finals of the world cup. Lehto previously named that as his goal for the season.