The group pushing for the transfer of elite sports to the responsibility of the ministry believes that Finland can also reach 8–9 medals at the Summer Olympics. According to Kati Lehtonen, the window of opportunity is open.
Zero medals from the Summer Olympics in Paris has pushed Finnish elite sports towards the demand for changes, but the means to be implemented are still unclear. How would it be wisest to organize elite sports so that resources are used in the best possible way and talented athletes get the support they need in their pursuit of the international top?
Last week, a group of sports people concerned about the state of elite sports proposed that the responsibility of attracting elite sports be transferred from the Olympic Committee to a light expert organization under the Ministry of Education and Culture. The innovation is called Sisu, and it would especially enhance the activities of athlete-coach pairs.
The group presented its views in more detail on Tuesday in Helsinki. In their opinion, Sisu could be built in six months and resources would not be needed more than at the beginning.
– We are not against the Olympic Committee, but we are in the cause of Finnish top sports. Finland has money, great conditions and enough talented athletes, said a member of the group Sami Itaniformer chairman of the Sports Association.
– The window of opportunity is open. The decisions are not in our hands, but we have to be able to decide which direction to take, emphasized the sports researcher who is part of the group Kati Lehtonen.
The ministry anticipates changes
The Ministry of Education and Culture reminded in its press release on Monday that the measures recommended by a Finnish and international group of researchers in June 2022 have not been put into practice in Finnish elite sports. The professor who is one of the authors of the report Karl-Erik Michelsen like Itani, is involved in lobbying Sisu.
The minister responsible for sports by Sandra Bergqvist (r.) changes are expected.
– In the ministry, we are preparing a model that serves elite sports and elite athletes in the best possible way. The preparation is based on knowledge and previous experiences, as limited resources must be allocated to effective measures, Bergqvist stated in the press release.
According to Sami Itani, the Olympic Committee also has information about the problems and how they can be fixed, but no interest in change has been found.
The requirement level should be raised
According to the Sisu group, Finland should get 8–9 medals from the Summer Olympics, if similar reference countries are taken as a point of comparison. Finland’s success in winter sports has been good so far, but it could be even better. For example, in the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, hockey and a few skiers were responsible for the medals.
In addition to Itan, Michelsen and Lehtonen, the group that considered Sisu includes the world champion in walking and the current coach Valentin Kononenformer CEO of the Sports Association Jarmo Mäkelä and ex-professional badminton player Anu Nieminenwho coaches, among other things, the European Championship bronze winner in the spring Joakim Oldorff.
Nieminen, who coached during his playing career in Denmark, the top country in badminton, emphasized raising the standard.
– It is easy to be good in Finland because there is too little internal competition. We also have to look at ourselves in the mirror, that we are not doing a very good job in Finland. We have to give the athletes the opportunity and the means to reach the top, Nieminen said.
The Sisu group wants to direct its resources to around a hundred athletes whose absolute goal is international excellence. Sisu would follow their training and find the best possible support for them.
– The criteria for the support would be known to everyone, and the work would be monitored in six-month periods, Kononen said.