Heili Sirviö’s third place at the X Games was a really tough achievement, when practically all the best were there.
23.9. 20:08•Updated 23.9. 21:15
Skateboarder Heili Sirviö13, took the bronze medal Sunday in the women’s park competition at the prestigious X Games in Chiba, Japan.
The X Games is an invitational competition to which the best in the world are invited. At the same time, the Worldskate World Championships of the international umbrella organization of skateboarding were also taking place in Rome, but the best were at the X Games.
– If you compare it to the finalists of the Olympic Games, there was roughly the same group. On the men’s side, there were some top names in Rome, but not in the same way on the women’s side, Finland’s head coach Jussi Korhonen told.
Top sports coordinator of the Finnish Skateboarding Association Antti Koskinen reminds that even getting an invitation to the event indicates a high level.
– It’s really hard for Heil to get an invitation there and still manage to get a historic medal.
The competition was won by the gold medalist of the Paris Olympics, Sirviö’s best friend Arisa Trewand the Paris bronze medalist finished second Sky Brown.
Earlier in the summer, Sirviö was fifth at the Paris Olympics. He was Finland’s youngest ever Olympic athlete.
Sirviö is a lonely star
Sirviö is currently the lone star in Finnish skateboarding. A resident of the United States Lizzie Armanto was featured a lot before the Tokyo Olympics, but didn’t do well at the games themselves.
In recent years, less has been heard of him. Armanto was on the X Games participation list, but did not participate in the competition.
– I would say that the level has passed Lizzie on the competition side, she probably won’t be fighting for medals anymore. His interests are perhaps elsewhere than in competitions, Koskinen said.
Young people are coming, but with the exception of Sirviö, they are still far from the brightest top. in the World Cup Luca Bear was 32 and young Sampo Martimo missed the qualification.
According to Jussi Korhonen, success in the future requires good conditions and networking.
– This is not the kind of sport that you practice somewhere in the backwoods of Finland and then go to the world to succeed. Nowadays, you have to network around the world, compete and train abroad.
According to Korhonen, conditions in Finland can be expected to improve in a couple of years.
– Tampere is coming to an indoor training hall for all skating competitions and the most popular forms of skating. We want a hall where people can skate all year round, all day and versatile.
– Then it can be expected that foreigners will start coming to train with us, and then the local juniors will get to work with the world’s top players.
Women and girls have applied to the sport
Sirviö and at the same time skateboarding got a lot of visibility in Finland during the Olympics. Has it been seen as a boost for the sport and as skateparks filling up with people all over Finland?
Executive director of the Skateboarding Association Santeri Sihvonen according to the visibility has influenced new groups applying to the sport and guided skating. In the past, many have started skating, for example, after watching videos or other skaters.
Guided skate school activity has grown as a phenomenon with the Olympics.
– The boost brought by the Olympics can be seen in the growing number of girls and women. And it has been seen in the skate school activities. The situation in Helsinki is that now that the hall season starts, there are not enough premises and we have to sell “no wait”.
Sihvonen hopes that the enthusiasm will not be wasted because there are not enough halls. It is not always possible to offer as much activity as there is demand for. In addition to Helsinki, Northern Finland, for example, has a challenging situation.
Korhonen reminds that enthusiasm can also wane during the winter.
– I don’t know if it will be seen in the coming government term as much as it is now. In winter, there are usually other hobbies for quite a lot of people who are excited about the end of summer.