Finnish biathlete Venla Lehtonen received a scary diagnosis after the World Championships – now she starts the season with great gratitude

Biathlon skier Venla Lehtonen, 28, starts the season with new plans. Finnish legend of the sport Kaisa Mäkäräinen is no longer coached by Lehto, but the main responsibility lies with the Norwegian head coach of the Finnish national team Erik Bartlett at Kulstad.

Previously Heikki Pusa served as Lehtonen’s personal coach for a long time. Lehtonen got his first World Cup points in the 2018–19 season. After that there were several difficult periods for one reason or another.

After the 2021-22 season, the biathlete, who had experienced health problems and adversity, thought that he needed new winds. He asked Mäkäräi to be his coach.

Why did the coaching pattern change again?

In the spring, Lehtonen was informed that he would move up from the B group back to the A national team. Then Lehtonen, the national team coaching and Mäkäräinen discussed what would be the best solution.

The A national team has 70 camp days. According to Lehtonen, that is quite a lot.

– We thought that the best solution is for the head coach to take full responsibility for my coaching. Anyway, he likes to lead in the direction that the athletes of the national team are his responsibility. It was felt to be the most stress-free solution of all, says Lehtonen.

– In the worst case scenario, two coaches can’t follow anything properly if their coaching philosophies differ even a little. I can still consult Kaisa and she can be supportive if I feel like it.

“It was a big shock”

Lehtonen’s last season ended in a particularly miserable way. On February 9, he was at a good pace in the fast track of the World Championships in Oberhof and had time to shoot zeroes from both shooting positions until he stopped in a dramatic way. Biathlon team doctor Katja Mjösund said that Lehtonen “suddenly became powerless”.

Then Lehtonen traveled to his native Finland for tests, as he was suspected of having a heart rhythm disorder. Mjösund said that Lehtonen had contracted the corona virus at the beginning of January, but managed to return to normal training and felt well before the World Championships.

Ten days later, Lehtonen told on his Instagram accountthat his season is over.

– The last week has been quite heavy. Being left in the middle of the speed competition at the World Championships and still after shooting zero felt overwhelming… Fortunately, I was able to quickly get detailed investigations and the reason for what happened was found. I am very grateful to the people who have helped and supported me in this situation, Lehtonen wrote.

The diagnosis was pericarditis that was already healing, possibly related to the diseased corona.

– It has been difficult to accept yet another setback. The exercises and the practice race in Oberhof went well, so I felt I was ready to compete. Feeling pretty empty and sad now. Fortunately, however, nothing irreversible happened and I will recover completely, Lehtonen continued.

Now Lehtonen no longer wants to go back to the past, but admits that last spring was difficult both mentally and physically.

– It was a big shock for me. But I got help right away, it was treated well, the recovery went well.

– The period from February to the beginning of May was completely just recovery and sports ban. It’s a pretty long break for a top athlete.

“Now there is peace of mind about the future”

In May, Venla Lehtonen got a clean slate and was able to start training again.

Reflecting on last season, Lehtonen emphasizes that he is above all really grateful and happy, how well and healthy his training season has gone. It naturally increases enthusiasm for the starting season.

– I didn’t want to set any clear result goal and thereby create pressure. There were good rankings and competitions last season as well. Of course I want to be better. Now I have a really calm mind about the future.

– You would get a good and intact, whole season. That’s the first starting point. It also enables top rankings.

The national team had one camp in Otepää, Estonia in June-July. Otherwise, Lehtonen has trained in Vuokatti, Joensuu and Imatra. He lives in Joensuu and comes from Imatra. Lehtonen praises the training opportunities in the localities.

– That’s why home training is of high quality.

The athlete describes head coach Erik Bartlett Kulstad as analytical and demanding even in the smallest details. But also positive and relaxed.

Absolutely revolutionary changes have not been made to Lehtonen’s sports training, but the focus has clearly been on intensive training.

– Especially at the anaerobic threshold, training has come to me in a completely different way than ever before. It’s definitely the biggest change in my training. At least so far so good. Sometimes more obvious changes can be good.

The national team in a new situation

Kaisa Mäkäräinen ended her biathlon career in the spring of 2020. Mari Eder finished last spring. That’s how it ended too Nastassia Kinnunen.

In the spring, only three women were named to the Finnish A national team: Venla Lehtonen and Erika Jänkä were born in 1995, Suvi Minkkinen 1994.

Lehtonen admits that now there is no longer a clear number one winner in the team.

– Of course, it certainly has an effect in some way when there is no clear leader or experience in the team. On the other hand, I don’t feel that it was terribly visible. We have a really good team spirit and atmosphere. We are trying to raise our level so that more athletes would be successful and that we would also be successful in messages.,

The national biathlon team spent the last few weeks in Vuokatti at their first snow camp. Then there is a short break before the last pre-season national team meeting in Kontiolahti and inspection races for the IBU Cup and the World Cup.

The Biathlon World Cup starts in Östersund, Sweden, from November 25 to December 3. shows the races on its channels. In this article, you can see all the Winter Sports World Cup competitions that televises.