Paris Olympics on channels 26.7.–11.8. Go to the competition website here.
A greedy ivy swarm takes advantage of its opportunity.
Luukas Saha, who is threading the line into the loop of the fly hook, is so engrossed in his work that half a dozen bloodsuckers on his arm and a few on his forehead do not seem to bother him.
The bubbling Kärnänkoski just a few meters away adds its own part to the almost solemn atmosphere. There is also Saha’s own “hot spot”, where he believes that he will soon get drunk.
When the preparations are done, Saha raises the suspenders of his waders and heads closer to the rapids.
Exercising in nature and especially fishing are a passion for judoka Luukas Saha and an important way to break away from everyday life.
He is taking a fishing trip to Viitasaari’s Kärnänkoski as a fresh judo World Cup bronze medalist. The achievement is historic, as Saha is only the second Finnish judoka to win a World Championship medal. From the first, Juha “Pupu” Salonen 43 years have already passed since the World Cup bronze medal.
When Saha defeated Tajikistan at the end of May in Abu Dhabi Nurali Emomalin In the bronze match of the 66-kilogram series of the World Championships, he secured a place at the Paris Olympics at the same time. It is not intended to go to the Olympics to be humiliated either.
– Yes, I’m going to leave there with a medal around my neck. That is my primary goal. Even if I hadn’t already received a medal, I would have aimed for it. That’s my own attitude to this business, says Saha.
A judoka considers the mental side to be his greatest strength. It helps to take every situation to the very end. Especially in the last two tournaments, Saha says he got a “good charge”.
– In the World Championships, I won two matches with the same turn of the mat. It’s a technique that has been honed a lot and will be honed even more to make it even better at the Olympics.
25-year-old Saha is confident in himself, but at the same time keeps his feet firmly on the ground. As early as four years ago, he stated in an interview with Aamulehti that “I don’t see any reason why one wouldn’t be able to participate in the Olympics.”
Now the old comment makes him smile.
– I knew then that skillfully I could be at the Olympics and I thought it was a foregone conclusion that I would be able to participate. However, now I’ve learned how everything can depend on the little things. Even now, participation was confirmed only in the last qualifying competition.
Martti Puumalainen With the EC gold and Saha’s WC bronze, Finnish judo is in a strong tailwind.
According to Saha, one common denominator behind the success is easy to point to: the head coach of the judo association Rok Drakšič. The Slovenian EC gold medalist in the sport started coaching four years ago and since then the results of Finnish judokas have been on the rise.
Saha says that Drakšič has brought a culture of hard training to the national team. And when someone succeeds, it creates self-confidence for the whole group.
– The most important thing is self-confidence and faith in your own doing. Maybe a little crazy sometimes. He (Drakšič) has had a successful career himself, which gives more faith that with these actions it is possible.
In Saha’s own case, it is also about finding a suitable balance between sports and civilian life.
Saha, who moved to Tampere in his twenties, then lived in Helsinki for a year and a half, training at the sports academy Urhea, where national team coaching was concentrated.
However, his career took off when he moved back to Tampere, where his girlfriend, who is studying to be a doctor, also lives.
Now the training program includes two weekly visits to Urhea. He takes care of the rest of his training in Tampere and at his hometown in Turengi.
– I’ve been able to perform well in training for a long time, but now I can measure the best of myself in the competitions as well and I have a relaxed attitude. I give my all, without pressure.
Saha’s interest in judo began when his parents took him to practice at the beginning of school. The slightly shy boy got excited about the sport right away and his first competition experiences revealed the burning desire for success inside.
– The first few races went quite poorly. Then I started holding self-paced exercises. After the failed race, I kept myself some junk training, which increased my motivation.
The hard amount of training brought results and around the age of 12 there was a shortage of training opponents, which is why the parents took the boy to training in Lahti, Helsinki and Tampere.
As years and experience accumulated, it seemed clear that the skills could also be enough for international success, but the breakthrough was waiting for itself.
– The road has seemed rocky, because I always missed a medal in the youth competitions, even though it was a very realistic goal and I got good positions. That’s why it feels so incredible that my first competition medal is at the adult WC level.
And what’s it like to taste a medal while working on your hobby, next to the rattling rapids. Luukas Saha draws energy from these moments to train towards new goals. After his peak career, he envisions that he might even work for the preservation of nature values.
– Touching this too when you look at it, it’s wonderful that it flows freely. I would like more of these. Here in the middle of nature, you feel that you are quite small on this earth. In some sick way, these mosquitoes also belong to the matter and cheer up the mood, Saha laughs.
For this year, he had two goals: a competition medal and a 60-centimeter trout. The second one has now come true.