HELSINKI. The Mäkelänrinne swimming hall is full and all lanes are in use. Older fitness swimmers are the majority in the pool, but in a couple of lanes we go at a faster pace.
There is a bow at the end of the stop lane Antti Kasvio. Daughter Lunch17, listens to him leaning on the edge of the pool.
Louna has already done a harder workout in the morning with the sports high school group, now she is dodging and passing the fitness swimmers. The program has a lighter workout.
It may be that the passers-by don’t know who just passed, even though Louna has already had success.
Antti Kasvio, on the other hand, will surely be remembered by many present. One fitness swimmer dares to talk.
Recognition is made easier by the hairstyle, which is the same as Antti’s in the 1990s.
– Things go relatively smoothly with Louna, at least if you think about what kind of person I am, says Kasvio, who turns 50 in December.
In the 90s, Antti was quite stony-faced and didn’t talk much in interviews. A challenging case for a sports reporter, they say. The man seems to be referring to that character trait.
However, a relaxed and talkative man is staring into the water at the edge of the pool.
– Coaching is fantastic, Kasvio enthuses.
Perhaps it is partly Louna’s merit, why a side of Anti is revealed to the public now, which was not seen in the 90s.
Antti Kasvio is one of Finland’s most successful swimmers. The plant was Jani Sievinen along with a great Finnish swimming star in the 1990s.
Kasvio already won Olympic bronze under the age of 20 on his parade trip in the 200-meter freestyle in Barcelona in 1992.
In the following years, he won the world championships on the long and short track.
Today, Kasvio does coaching work with Louna alongside the family business. His swimming career at the top ended already after 1996.
Born in 2006, Louna is the only child in the Kasvio family. A lot has been added to the surname, such as at Kinnunee’s javelin throw site or Koivuu’s rink.
There are many examples of great sports families in Finland, but the swimming clan of Kasvioi is at the top, considering how long the tradition has developed. And what has been achieved.
Jo Antti’s grandparents were successful swimmers, including his Checkmate-father and Outside-mother: both Olympic-level athletes.
Another Kasvio is in the pool aiming for success.
– My best experiences in my life so far are related to swimming. All the competitions, trips and camps I’ve been to because of this hobby, Louna Kasvio says.
Louna has strong memories of his childhood, when he and his family swam at the seaside. Blood was immediately drawn to swimming.
A hobby is becoming a profession.
– Swimming is a big thing in our family. A swimming career developed naturally, Louna underlines.
Louna is a junior European Championship medalist and multiple Finnish champion. Last summer, the junior EC bronze medal was won in the 400-meter medley.
Kasvio, atypical for a Finnish swimmer, also dominates longer distances.
In the Romanian EC pool at the beginning of December, there is at least 1,500 meters free in the program. Louna has the Finnish record in the sport from this year.
With father’s advice towards the top
Like Sievinen, Antti Kasvio was known as a really hard trainee. As a whipper.
Even Lounak’s swimming kilometers are tough for a 17-year-old: around 60-70 kilometers per week. According to the duo, the kilometers have been increased gradually.
Louna has at least caught up to his father in terms of training and determination. However, he seems to be a bit more talkative in front of the media than Antti was when he was 17.
– During training, it doesn’t always feel so good, but I like the feeling when you get the most out of yourself. When you’ve been doing this kind of training for a long time, you’ve gotten used to the number of kilometers when you’ve steadily increased them, Louna describes.
Louna has full credit for Antti’s methods. He enjoys working with his father.
– Father once reached such a good level. He knows what to do.
Has dad got any good tips for competition performance?
– Yes, there are always tips, sometimes good, sometimes bad, Louna bursts into laughter.
As Louna gets older, his father’s hard achievements have come to light. He has videotaped world championship and Olympic swimming many times.
– Back then, I didn’t understand how hard he swam. Now I can understand when I’m at this level myself, says Louna.
However, my favorite video about my father is the 1990’s comedy-filled R-kiosk commercial, where Antti orders a chocolate bar with his voice turned down without even an expression.
Talking about the ad makes Louna laugh, even Antti a little.
“Antti came over and cried”
Antti Kasvio didn’t really show his emotions in interviews after the games, let alone in TV commercials.
However, Louna is ready to reveal the other side of her father that was never seen in the 1990s.
Let’s go to last July and Belgrade, where the under-18 European Championship was held.
Louna was immediately sharp in the preliminaries of the 400 meter medley with a time of 4:46.65. It was the second fastest time of the group and a new Finnish record for young people.
My record improved by no less than three seconds.
After his performance, Louna started walking towards the dressing room.
– When we saw each other right after the race, Antti came over and cried with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Antti is not going to dispute the story. He admits that, like Louna, he has a hard time at the games. Many parents can relate to that.
– In my own sports career, I was like: “Yes, it went really well”. But when your own child does something, it’s more emotional. I dare to watch Louna’s races, he assures.
If the father sometimes makes his daughter hard in practice, sometimes the coach is also tired. The dual role is exhausting.
– As a father, it’s hard sometimes when you have to play a role that demands something all the time. It’s not a role you want all the time. It’s not always easy to throw on faija mode.
– The coach’s role is also at home, because I live as a top athlete all the time.
At home, however, there is a more relaxed father. As a coach, Antti is demanding and quite strict, Louna reflects.
– Few people my age spend so much time with their own parents. Yes, you have to know how to appreciate it. At least I like our little team myself.
The manager’s work is handled by the mother Hannah. He has no swimming background.
“I haven’t seen the full potential”
What is your goal? Will you become a world champion like your father?
Louna is certainly used to answering these questions by now.
– Yes, they are dreams in every athlete’s mind, but let’s see how the development continues.
– What do you say? Luna asks her father.
Dad takes a short inch break.
– I would say that we have enjoyed the trip more so far. We haven’t thought about the goal that much, Antti says.
You can still read between the lines that the goals are high. The bet is on tap.
– Lunch is probably even better than what has been seen in the competition results. He’s really good at training. I haven’t seen the full potential, the father believes.
The close father-daughter coaching relationship may sometimes change because it is easier to get swimming turns in a group.
After sports high school practices, Louna trains alone with her father, and the Kasvios have to go to the group of fitness swimmers in the evening training to look for an empty track.
– I hope that in three years we can do work together at some level. I think he could do this at least part of the time with another group, swimmers of his own level. That’s my wish, Antti concludes.
Dad has been especially impressed by how Louna has learned over the years from training.
– Today, Louna is just as much a self-coach as I am. He has been developing all the time. That’s the best thing here, dad smiles.