Top paddler Sára Mihalik, 26, got the right to represent Finland at the beginning of the year. The background of the change was dark times.
Even five years ago, when Sarah Mihalik was a top prospect in Hungary, known as a water sports powerhouse, he hardly imagined that he would end up in Finland.
A lot happened since then. Mihalik came across situations in Hungarian paddling circles that were a shock for the athlete.
– I was a young, highly motivated athlete. The best paddlers in Hungary were my idols. I was hugely disappointed when I noticed that things were not as good as I had imagined, Mihalik, 26, tells Urheilu.
Hungary, with a population of around ten million, is known as a successful country for water sports. The country’s paddlers have rarely won medals in prestigious competitions that year, which means that the competition for national team and representation places is merciless.
The talented Mihalik made it to the national team, but immediately noticed how difficult it was to stay there. The training became more demanding all the time, and there was no time to rest.
– It’s hard to be a Hungarian paddler. I have been paddling for 17 years now, the last 15 of which have required tireless work. I learned that the hardest thing is to stay on top when so many are thirsting for the same place.
In 2019, the paddles hit the wall. My heart was racing, my muscles were constantly aching and my coordination was no longer working.
A heavier burden than physical exhaustion was the gnawing sense of injustice. According to Mihalik, he couldn’t get over the observation that many people around him were using banned substances.
– Truth and clean sports were things that I strongly spoke for when I was young. It was very hard to live with the fact that the world doesn’t work that way.
According to Mihalik, it was not about the blunders of individual athletes, but about a system that encouraged cheating.
– I couldn’t fight the system, so I started looking for a system that would work.
Mihalik missed the 2019 season due to a bad overuse condition. In 2020, the global corona pandemic caused the cancellation of sports events and paddling competitions. By 2021, Mihalik had decided to change the country of representation. He also missed the 2021 competition season, because changing the national team requires not competing for three seasons.
Mihalik joined the Finnish national team largely as a Canadian manager by Adam Favelin thanks to. Favel, who has seen the world, thought that the tiny Nordic country was suitable for his shelter.
– According to Adam, the Finnish mentality is close to mine. Finns are known for their hard work, sports here are clean and fair. I also have Hungarian friends who live in Finland. Through them I knew that Finland is a good place to live.
“No one gets special treatment”
Mihalik has represented Finland since the beginning of the year. Now he says he feels gratitude above all else.
– When I collapsed in 2019, I thought I would experience great misfortune. In retrospect, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
– The Finnish national rowing team offers all the framework to gauge my potential. I used to have to fight for a chance and do everything myself. In Finland, I get a lot of support, so I can properly focus on training.
Kayaking is a marginal sport in domestic sports, but Mihalik praises the Finnish coaching system. It is important to him that, instead of pressure and belief in authority, the activity is based on trust between coaches and athletes.
– The Finnish system is fair anyway. No one gets special treatment, it’s the results that count. I have not received any advantage from my past achievements or my citizenship, but I have had to earn my place in the selection races, says Mihalik, who won the under-23 marathon kayaking world championship in the ranks of Hungary.
In a short time, Mihalik has become the biggest candidate for success in Finnish track paddling. At the beginning of August, he won bronze at the Canadian World Championships in Halifax after colorful stages. Mihalik, who was suffering from flu, was fourth at the European Championships held in Munich later that month.
– I have achieved world championships when I was younger, but the World Cup bronze medal I paddled in Canada was special. The whole story behind the medal and winning it for Finland… Words cannot describe that feeling.
Mihalik’s dream is to represent his new national team at the Olympics. The Hungarian ace is considered a potential Olympic medalist, but there is a long way to go before that, on and off the paddling track. Competing in Finnish colors on the Olympic tracks requires obtaining citizenship.
However, Mihalik is confident. The love for the sport has been found again. On the training track and in competitions, paddlers often think of one of their biggest sporting role models, the Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen.
– I am the second biggest Kimi fan in the world after my brother. To me, Räikkönen represents guts and unyieldingness, which I want to emulate myself.
MIhalik plans to move from Budapest to the Helsinki-Tampere axis next. The majority of national team rowers train in Tampere, Helsinki is a potential place of study for a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences.
– I could study for a master’s degree at the University of Helsinki. It has been great to notice how Finnish society takes care of students. I feel that in Finland I have opportunities not only in sports but also in my personal life.