Finland got an Olympic place in mountain biking – the Finnish team was supplemented with 12 athletes | Sports in a nutshell

There are currently 39 athletes in the Finnish Olympic team. The final selection window closes on July 8.

Finland got one Olympic spot for men’s XCO mountain biking. On Monday, the Olympic Committee named a mountain biker to the team Joni Savasteen and 11 athletes from other sports.

Chairman of the Extreme Cycling Unit of Finnish Cycling Mika Simolan According to him, an Olympic place is a significant achievement for Finnish cycling.

– Getting to the competitions as a reserve naturally means that it has not been possible to build long preparation plans, but together with the Olympic Committee we have built a very good approach to Monday 29.7. to the competition, Simola commented in the press release of Suomen Pyöräily ry.

With Monday’s nominations, the Finnish team now has a total of 39 athletes.

– The Finnish team is starting to take its final shape, and it’s great to see a wide range of sports in Paris. The selection window closes on July 8, and in athletics we are still waiting for several additional places. In addition, in a few other sports we can still get last-minute places in Paris, the leader of the Finnish team Leena Paavolainen says in the announcement of the Finnish Olympic Committee.

The choice of the browser was discussed

In the seventh selection, a 13-year-old skateboarder was also named to the Olympic team Heili Sirviö. According to Paavolainen, his choice was discussed comprehensively, and the wishes of the athlete and his parents were also listened to in the discussion.

– For two years now, Heili has been competing in international competitions with the same athletes he will meet in Paris. Most of them are very young, some even younger than Heil, so in that sense the Paris Olympic competition is no different from Heil’s normal competition program, and the situation is not new for him, says Paavolainen.

According to the rules of the International Olympic Committee, Sirviö is allowed to take a guardian with him, so one of his parents will accompany him to the team.