The World Championship medal brought to Finland by the Hungarian Sara Mihalik was the first in track paddling in nine years. Mihalik has expressed his desire to compete in Finnish colors at the Olympics, but the matter has not yet been discussed in the Olympic Committee.
13:40•Updated 13:47
Hungarian paddler representing Finland Sara Mihalik won the World Cup bronze medal in track paddling in Canada’s Halifax on Sunday. Mihalik’s bronze in the 5,000 meters was the first World Cup medal for Finnish track rowers since 2013.
Mihalik got the right to represent Finland at the competition level at the beginning of the current year. Mihalik, who was born in Hungary and started his career at the international level, is not a Finnish citizen, although he represents the Finnish national team. Mihalik represented Finland for the first time in the spring of this year in two World Cup competitions.
Track paddling coaching manager of the Finnish Paddling and Rowing Association Petteri Pitkänen previously told Urheilu that the transfer of the right of representation at the competition level is a slow process in track paddling.
– If there are no representative events in the ranks of the previous country from international competitions from the past years, then there are no quarantine rules in the transfer. When you are registered as a member of the local club of the “receiving” country and the transfer has been made according to all ICF rules, you don’t even need to live in the country, Pitkänen said after the World Cup.
Mihalik represents Meloilo from Jyväskylä in Finland.
Mihalik is previously expressed (you switch to another service) his wish to represent Finland in track rowing at the Olympic level. Finnish Olympic Committee precision sports team manager Kimmo Yli-Jaskari says that Mihalik’s possible Olympic representation has not been discussed. The main reason is his racing journey.
The choice of travel has an impact
Mihalik competed in the World Championships in kayak units over a distance of 5,000 meters, which is not an Olympic distance. Instead, his second competitive distance in kayak doubles, 500 meters, is. He participated in this trip Netta Malinen with as a duo in Halifax.
Sport group manager Yli-Jaskari states that Mihalik, who has been successful in track paddling marathon trips, has still remained under the radar in terms of Olympic representation.
– It has not been discussed yet. The reason is that these were his first prestigious competitions in Finnish colors and it is not an Olympic journey where the medal will come. So we are not in a situation where we would be discussing this tomorrow, Yli-Jaskari sums up for Urheilu.
Yli-Jaskari admits that Mihalik’s getting the right to represent has come surprisingly quickly. In many other sports, athletes who switch to another country’s flag can take a couple of years with waiting periods to get it.
In his opinion, Mihalik’s desire to represent Finland is a positive thing.
– Yes, it is viewed positively that we can get reinforcements for our track paddling team. Scope is needed, and there is no problem with that in itself.
Recruiting athletes does not evoke negative thoughts
The use of so-called “buy athletes” in international competitions has caused outrage for decades across different sports.
In addition to athletics, for example in ball sports, there has been a bitter attitude towards countries that have recruited players without family or other ties to the country.
What is the opinion of the Olympic Committee about this kind of recruitment of athletes living abroad for Finnish teams? In recent years, examples have been, for example, Lizzie Armanto (skateboarding) and Anastasia Kulikova (tennis). What kind of opinions has this aroused?
– Well, it hasn’t aroused negative opinions in any way. If good athletes are brought to Finland from elsewhere to represent Finland, then it will not arouse any opposition in us. We always look at the situation and prospects on a case-by-case basis. It doesn’t mean anything that when someone jumps to represent Finland’s colors, that we automatically start giving support, but that their performance is evaluated with the same metrics as all other Finnish athletes.
– There is no special position in that, but we by no means think negatively about these issues, Yli-Jaskari concludes.