Jonne Kähkönen, the former head coach of the Finnish biathlon national team, will be coaching the Italian women’s national team for the next few years.
4.5. 19:43 • Updated 4.5. 20:15
The Italian women’s national team for biathlon is aiming for the Milan and Cortina Winter Olympics in four years, partly in Finnish coaching. He has been the head coach of the Finnish national team for the previous four years Jonne Kähkönen has entered into a model agreement with Bootland for 2 + 2 years.
– A really challenging but interesting wash is ahead. The first gathering with the athletes will take place in mid-May. Let’s put the team together and talk about things, Kähkönen tells Sport almost impatiently.
However, the 48-year-old experienced coach does not admit to feeling particularly excited.
– That excitement is definitely a good opportunity to make a hard profit. It’s such a good itch to get to work already. However, I have been involved in the World Cup since 2002, in the beginning Paavo Puurusen and Vesa Hietalahti as a ski lubricant, greetings to them, so a lot has already been experienced and seen, Kähkönen laughs.
Kähkönen, who has coached Finnish biathletes twice, has received a lot of criticism in his second season. Especially when Finnish athletes have banged the damper carefully during the competition. However, in biathlon circles, Kähkönen’s work is clearly valued. The Finn had three hard job offers on the table to choose from.
– The USA offered to work with a youth national team, to raise the next generation to a new level. Another option to consider until the final meters was as the shooting coach of the Austrian national team. However, I felt that I wanted to be more closely involved in the overall work, and that whole thing was the most interesting thing in coaching Italy, Kähkönen reveals.
Resources in Italy are second to none than in Finland. The women’s national team has a three-coach system, as do the men. In addition to Kähkönen, they form a women’s team Mirco Romanin and Edoardo Mezzaro. The headlines are decided by the head coach for both Alexander Inderst.
– There are nine athletes on both national teams and we also camp together. I am delighted to be able to work with young successes and growing talent, but on the other hand, the team also has ready-made earners, Kähkönen sums up.
The brightest female star in the sport, Dorothea Wierer, continues under Kähkönen
Italy is one of the mainstays of biathlon and the star of the women’s team has been one of the most watched athletes in the sport in recent years, Dorothea Wierer. More than 620 thousand people follow a woman’s life on Instagram. Wierer, 32, announced today that he will continue his career at least next season.
Two years ago, Wierer celebrated World Cup gold in the upcoming Olympic landscapes in Anterselva, both on a regular trip and in pursuit. Wierer has won the overall World Cup in the spring of 2019 as well as 2020.
Last season was a bit of a disappointment for the Italian, who was only ninth in the World Cup, but on the other hand won his first personal medal of his career in Beijing, a bronze medal in the sprint.
– He has directly said that he is not ready to promise four years. But surely with the piety of a top athlete, he looks at it year after year. If there is success and the motivation remains, then the home competitions are guaranteed to be attractive, Kähkönen sees the situation of the team’s number one star.
Another Successful of the next few years, Lisa Vittozzin Kähkönen has already had time to exchange ideas. Vitozzi (27) celebrated second place in the World Cup and World Championship silver in the normal distance three years ago in the spring, but has had a hard time since. Working on the bench in particular has been quite a lottery.
– We have not gone through more detailed details with Lisa, but there have been clear new stimuli in the message of the entire national team.
In competitive sports, of course, a result is required, and with ease, Kähkönen is guaranteed not to get in front of the passionate Italian sports audience. However, this is not to be feared.
– When it comes to talking about a big country, there is a pressure on the results. The challenge is to get to know the practices, the environment, and the Italian language. Quite a few articles have been written about me over the years, and not all of them have been positive. There has to be a certain hard surface, but as long as you know what you’ve done and what you want to do, and if you’re successful, that’s enough for me.
Kaisa Mäkäräinen Since then, Finnish biathlon has not been able to enjoy the podium festival. Tero Seppälä however, rising to the top ten in the world in several races is something that, on the one hand, is gratifying, but in a way also remains to be dug out of Kapka.
– The big personal goal was to raise the Finnish men’s biathlon to the same level as the women. It was not possible to achieve exactly what Kaisa Mäkäräinen has achieved over the years. However, I believe that Tero has a very good chance of becoming a podium athlete and in the sense I feel that my work was a little interrupted, Kähkönen concludes.