– After all, this is a rags-to-riches story. Absolutely incredible, sums it up Adrian Frantsin father I met Frantsi moved at the top of the Messilä ski slope.
A few meters away from us stands a happy young man, pumping his hand rhythmically in the air and shouting in such a way that the whole of Päijät-Häme is guaranteed to hear:
– Go, go, go to Colorado!
During my more than 20-year journalistic career, I haven’t been able to interview a single happy athlete.
Now 25-year-old Adrian was adopted to Finland from Romania when he was just over three years old. The boy was in poor health and was sick a lot. Over time, it became clear that it was a special child.
However, it did not slow down the life of the family with six children. Frantsi’s family lived an active life and the boy was an extension of the crowd, both on the ski slopes and on the downhill slopes.
But what were your first experiences on the slopes like?
– Well, really terrible, Tapani Frantsi laughs.
– When Adi fell in the elevator, he was left lying on the ground and giggling when a funny sound was heard from the carpet, the father recalls.
– However, it seems to be quite normal for many small skiers, he says.
Number tag on the chest in a legendary place
Adi’s real math skills came as a small surprise to the family five years ago, during a skiing holiday in Italy.
– We realized then that Adihan can count anywhere and enjoys the fact that there is such a certain challenge, Tapani says.
The boy agrees, and even falling on a black slope didn’t scare him.
– Pam and I got drunk on a black slope, but there was no fear left. I bravely went forward until the end and it went really well, Adi laughs.
His path to becoming a competitive calculator opened somewhat unexpectedly. Frantsi was supposed to participate in the Special Olympics World Games in Kazan this winter, i.e. in practice the Olympic Games for the mentally disabled, but the games were canceled due to the war of aggression in Russia.
The invitation to the X Games mega-event came after working in disability sports for a long time Janne Piitulainen through.
Piitulainen met Adrian on the skiing slopes of Messilä a year ago, and told the family about the Special Olympics family, i.e. the sports organization for people with developmental disabilities. Since then, Piitulainen has worked as Adrian’s coach. Now the two are going to Aspen together.
This is an invitational competition. Piitulainen says that the matter went through many twists and turns. It was affected, among other things, by getting stuck at the Warsaw airport.
– There I ran into the European boss of the Special Olympics organization, with whom we exchanged ideas. Later, he then sent me a message asking if you knew of any suitable calculators for the X Games. I immediately replied that I have an absolutely great boyfriend, Piitulainen laughs.
Now Piitulainen gets to experience the dream place of every skier himself, Aspen. He has previously skied mostly free downhill with Frants, but in recent weeks he has been training strictly for slalom, for which the Lahti Ski Club has provided a good setting in Messilä.
The Special Olympics philosophy is that the most important thing is not winning, but participating.
– But we will go there to win and of course have fun, Piitulainen says with a smile.
Pair slalom, which is competed in teams, is a special category sport. The team has one disabled athlete and one healthy star athlete. Adrian himself boldly sets out to conquer America.
– The best thing is that he does a good and intact performance. I will never give up. I have power, energy and strength, and I’m not afraid of anything, Adrian says.
Isä Tapani’s only concern is that there is even a little too much energy due to the excitement, but luckily Janne Piitulainen is a reliable tour leader.
– Let’s hope that the goods will all be included and the passport will not be lost. However, I believe that everything will go well and it will certainly be very nice there. The family says that they finally got one top athlete in the family, Tapani smiles proudly.
Next on the dream list is a summer job with Golf
– Snowboarding in winter is my dream. And Lahti Pelicans. It’s nice to be a fan, jihaa, Adrian still exclaims!
And are there other things you like about sports?
– Well, there is golf in the summer. I’m pretty good at it, Adrian says.
Indeed, Frantsi has also been able to try out working life with another beloved hobby.
– Adrian got a job at Nokian River Golf last summer and it went damn well. However, it requires a lot from the employer when you have to acquire a housing unit and all kinds of other things. Adrian pedaled every morning at six, eight kilometers to the construction site and did all kinds of work. The big dream would be to find work in the future, Tapani reveals.
The X Games will be held in Aspen, USA, from January 27th to January 29th.