Maisa Kuusikko18, achieved a rare Finnish result at the European Championship in Rimini for balance beam gymnastics and was only 0.066 points away from the final place in the balance beam.
He didn’t get to do all the combinations with the props, but he still scored 13.600 in the balance judging category of an intact series.
– Of course it’s sad, but in a good way, when something stuck in my teeth right away. I got the same feeling that next year I will be there. Even though I was disappointed, I got an extra boost from it and a feeling that I’m going to train my series in top condition so that I can reach the finals one more year.
– I also competed in the simplified jump here at the European Championships, but the main thing is that I competed in it. It was just amazing that after the injury I was able to do more than props, Kuusikko rejoices.
The representative of Tampere Gymnasts has had an exceptionally difficult couple of years behind him.
First, the young athlete recovered from a stress fracture in his back, then last fall he suffered a knee injury and the subsequent operation, which watered down the World Cup competitions, where the main goal was to get an Olympic spot for the Paris Olympics.
At the beginning of the year, Kuusikko has competed mostly in the beam, and due to his knee injury and a long training break, he has not yet been able to participate in the quadruple, which was the last competition spot for next summer’s Olympics in the ongoing European Championships.
Kaia Tanskanen was 22nd among the Finns in the Rimini EC quadruple with 50.932 points, and did not reach the last Olympic place.
Kuusikko’s own record score of 52.198 is from the European Championships in Munich 2022. In the same year, Kuusikko became the first Finnish woman to compete in the World Championship final of the quadruple, when she reached 13th place in the women’s quadruple in Liverpool with a score of 51.999. He was then the sixth best among Europeans.
– I would say that I am a quadriplegic. I’m not going to be a specialist for anything. The goal is definitely to be able to compete in the foursome again. I feel that I am at my best when I get to do all the racks. Nojapuut becomes a particular favorite, but I plan to focus equally on each stand.
Kuusikko reveals that he has already started practicing all the racks.
– I’ve already done the basic things with a permanton and a boom, even though they’re not in competition condition yet.
– I have had a really, really difficult period after the injury. Many have said that injuries teach and they always have a purpose. This has been hard for me to understand. Only now have I started to realize that this is how it will go in the end, Kuusikko admits.
Female gymnasts from Finland have participated in only four Olympic Games, in 1952, 1960, 1964 and 2012. Annika Urvikkowho participated in the qualifying competition in London 2012, but did not advance to the final.
– It’s a big disappointment that I didn’t make it (to the Olympics) and I had to deal with it a lot. At the moment, I’ve gotten over it pretty well and moved on. It’s really one race among others. I have some other goals that I still want to achieve in my career, Kuusikko says.
A European Championship medal as a long-term dream
Kuusikko says that he received an important and helpful tip from one person.
– If there is a purpose to be found, why the (knee) injury was the worst part of all, then maybe it was a sign for me that I still have a lot more to achieve than just the Olympics.
– So if everything had gone so well that I would have made it to the Olympics, would I have ended my career (in Paris) and too early? I don’t know if this would have happened. However, it has opened up for me that something nice can still happen to me, Kuusikko gets excited.
Kuusiko, who started gymnastics at the age of 4, is influenced by the coaches Igor Cherepov mixed Ida Laisi, who are responsible for his daily sports coaching. His mother taught him the basics of the sport Ulla Kuusikkowho is a former gymnast.
– Next, we sit down with the coaches, we go over the future goals and the summer training season and the plans for the rest of the season.
Kuusikko sighs deeply and at the same time hopes that he will have a proper training season during the coming summer, when the last couple of years have been full of adversity due to injuries.
– Now that I’m here at the European Championship, I’ve thought that I definitely want to reach the finals in the future. Of course, an EC medal would be a great thing if I ever got it. It’s a long-term dream, says Kuusikko.