Do you remember how this Finnish skiing foursome rose from outcasts to heroes in an instant? “Here comes”

Men’s 4×10 kilometer relay at the World Championships in Planica on Friday 3.3. at 1:30 p.m. Live broadcast on TV2, -Areena, application and Urheilu’s website.

More than 14 years ago, the Finnish men’s relay team received an award for their persistent struggle. Four Matti Heikkinen, Sami Jauhojärvi, Teemu Kattilakoski and Ville Nousiainen set off with hopes of a medal, but already in the opening leg their dreams were shattered when Heikkinen’s pole broke right at the start acceleration.

However, Heikkinen fought and brought himself to the exchange in fifth place. Jauhojärvi took the lead in the second leg and Kattilakoski came second in the third leg.

Today, Nousiainen, who works as an expert at Urheilu, remembers how nervous he was before and during the race. When Kattilakoski came to replace third, it was up to Nousiain whether Finland would get a medal or not.

– It was really exciting when I saw the situation in which I had to leave. I knew that the track was really muddy, so I took care all the time: don’t go too hard, don’t go too hard, Nousiainen repeated the message from years ago.

You can find a summary of the 2009 relay at the following link: Live archive: Bronze in the men’s WC relay 2009

Nousiainen kept a cool head, because he knew that the pursuers had to catch up to him – and he would be able to raise his level again after the first three kilometers. Nousiainen’s skiing was also made easier by the fact that the Liberec track had a lot of bends. He could see all the time where the pursuers were coming, so he could pick up the pace if necessary.

All the stars are in place

Petter Northug and Axel Teichmann decided in the end of the world championship. Norway took it by 2.6 seconds to Germany. In the end, Nousiain did not have an emergency day, and he brought Finland to the finish line in third place.

– We had all the stars align that day, everything worked out relatively well, Nousiainen stated.

– We never had an anchor who could solve tight spots in the final stretch. We weren’t fast enough. But we were consistent, everyone was able to ski in the top ten, some even on the podium.

Kattilakoski was Nousiainen’s roommate in Liberec. He said on Urheilustudio’s broadcast that he no longer thinks very hard or often about the relay bronze, even though it brings back good memories.

– That relay medal is the brightest crown of my career, even in terms of results. It’s the only medal from the competition level that I have in my closet, Kattilakoski said.

– After all, skiing is largely an individual sport, but yes, the message always ignites. We had a really great team at that time and it was nice to ski for and as a team like that.

The junk station brought the desire to show off

After the 2001 Lahti World Cup doping scandal, the Finnish national team had completely changed. Jauhojärvi and Kattilakoski were faced with a difficult situation when they became responsible. A little later, Nousiainen and Heikkinen also joined the national team.

The Finnish people were used to success, after all, the men’s relay medal had been one of the “sure” prize medals for a few years. The young boys were just looking for their own level and path. When success didn’t come right away, the skiers had to scratch their necks.

– In retrospect, the period after Lahti was a horrible time for many years. It felt like we were a bit outcasts in the entire national skiing team, Kattilakoski said.

– Maybe it brought us together as a group even more. We got such a desire to show off that it washes from here.

The bronze medal in Liberec has been waiting for a continuation for a long time. A few times the medal has been close, for example four years ago at the World Championships in Seefeld Richard Jouve won Joni Mäen in the final fight and France took the bronze medals by 1.8 seconds. Fourth place has also become Finland’s fate at the 2011 World Championships in Oslo and the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

– We got there among the four or five, but we never quite managed to hit the button, Nousiainen said.

He reminded that if the team is balanced, success does not require miracles in the final games. Some team always gets the lubrication wrong or one of the four freezes. One such consistent team has been France, who have achieved bronze in the previous three World Cups as well as the Olympics.

The last message of the “youth chain”?

In recent years, the Finnish men’s team has not assembled a consistent foursome. Iivo Niskanen has been generally superior in the second half, and it has provided the team with an advantage that the team has not yet been able to take advantage of.

Iivo Niskanen has won the Olympic gold and the world championship, but he is missing a relay medal. In Ville Nousiainen’s opinion, you can hear from Niskanen’s speeches that this missing medal really interests him a lot.

– When I’ve watched his relay races, you can see what kind of heat he has for that relay medal, Nousiainen said.

– At least the medal won’t be caught by him, because he dares to start bombing right away and won’t wait.

neck, Cross mat Hakola and Perttu Hyvärinen have named themselves “youth chain”, because they have been touring the games together for years. Nowadays, skiers in their thirties have always had to be disappointed in the relay, even though they smelled like a medal before the race.

It may even be that Planica’s World Cup relay is the last one for this youth chain, even if it doesn’t have to be this way due to age.

– It would be great to celebrate with a group. We have come away from the truck disappointed so many times. Niskanen dreamed on Thursday evening that he would finally be able to take a sauna with the boys.