Hannu Manninen, who has returned to the race tracks in his forties, does not promise an easy road or high rankings for Antti Tuisku’s skiing career.
Combined Olympic medalist and world champion Hannu Manninen is looking forward to next year, when the former pop star Antti Tuiskun is scheduled to compete at the ski championship level.
Manninen, who also competed in cross-country skiing at the Olympic level, made no less than two returns to the competition fields himself, and skied the race tracks for the last time when he was still in his forties.
therefore asked Manninen for tips for Tuisku, who is aiming for the competitive skiing level at the same age as Manninen in his last comeback career.
The legend of the United does not promise an easy road, nor does it promise high rankings at the SM level.
– The ranking will not be very high, I must say frankly. It’s a tough performance if you even reach the top 50, Manninen estimates.
“Antti gives 20 years of equalization”
Manninen reminds that the national level in cross-country skiing is really tough, because there are many skiers who have been training since they were young.
– For 20 years, Antti has been helping other skiers who have practiced the sport since they were young.
Increasing the competition condition in a year is also a challenging project, to which the years bring their own addition.
Hannu Manninen himself was in his forties when he participated in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Before that, he skied at the championship level.
– When it was more than four years without competing at all, you did notice that the performance had clearly weakened. The more cheerful boys in their twenties went hard and couldn’t keep up, Manninen describes.
According to Manninen, Tuisku should now invest in both fitness and skiing technique.
– If the skiing technique is not in good condition and the skiing economy is not in good shape, then there is no benefit, no matter how fit you are. The whole is what counts and there is certainly a lot of work to be done.
Manninen’s tips: the so-called economic skiing in order
Tuisku’s coach Reijo Jylhä stated that the goal is to make the pop star’s skiing “look like competitive skiing”.
Manninen explains how to distinguish a competitive skier from a good Sunday skier.
– The skiing of a competitive skier just looks so easy, it progresses easily and the skis can slide well. In skiing, you can find the joint angles that suit the skier’s body, he is able to do things economically and during the slide he is able to recover the muscles.
So what the heck does economic skiing mean?
– The fact that you can create relaxed moments within the ski cycle. Gliding, knee angles, joint angles and flat push are important in modern skiing, Manninen advises.
Praise for investing in the goal
According to Manninen, the running time of a marathon tells something about the skiing condition. Antti Tuisku has run a marathon at the end of last year in a time of 3 hours and 15 minutes, which is considered a hard result for an enthusiast.
Manninen’s own marathon time is half an hour shorter.
– Such a long performance tells in a certain way about the readiness that Antti has to develop himself as a competitive skier. Race skiers are very hard to run and those are wild times that top skiers can run in a marathon. Reflecting on that, Antti certainly still has a lot to do.
In competitive skiing, mental edge is also measured. Mannen has enough credit for Tuisku’s mentality.
– The good thing about Antti is that he can fully live the life of a top athlete. From what I’ve gotten to know about him through the media, the good thing is that he goes one hundred percent towards the goal he sets.
– It is good to remember that squeezing too much does not move things forward. Relaxation and ease must be maintained, Manninen reminds.
Corrected 6.2. 7:31 am: The South Korean Olympics were held in Pyeongchang and not Pyongyang.