The Finnish Olympic Committee has named its new top sports officials. Sailing became part of the support program for top sports.
16:20•Updated 17:06
The Finnish Olympic Committee has been appointed as the top sports officer Liisa Ahlqvist-Lehkosuo, Tommi Pärmäkoski, Toni Roponen and Juha Sten. The four will start their duties at the beginning of next year.
Kimmo Mustonen continues as Paralympic sport group manager. Lauri Hakala and Mika Vakkuri has already been hired as a top sports manager with a 50% work contribution.
– The elite sports unit has been operating for 10 years now, and the results of elite sports have been on the rise in recent years. We will continue with the chosen strategic line, but we will enhance and modify our operating methods to better live in time, says the head of the elite sports unit Matti Heikkinen.
Ahlqvist-Lehkosuo has worked in the years 2014–2020 as the top sports director of the Finnish Gymnastics Federation. He has worked as an expert of the Finnish Olympic Committee’s Top Sports Unit in the competition process of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Pärmäkoski works in the hockey club Tappara’s coaching group in physical training. In the years 2008–2011, Pärmäkoski worked as the Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel’s with.
Roponen, who is the current director of Tanhuvaara sports college, currently also works as an expert for Urheilu.
Basketball coach Sten has been the head coach of the youth national team in 2020–2022 and in coaching the boys of HBA-Märsky. Previously, he has also coached Kataja Basket, which plays in the men’s Korisliiga, between 2018 and 2020.
Sailing as a top sport
A total of 4,037,080 euros of the Olympic Committee’s enhancement support was distributed, of which 630,000 euros go to athletics.
Sailing took a big leap in the Olympic Committee’s list of supporting sports. It was classified as an investment sport of the support program for this year, next year it will be the top sport. The subsidy for improving sailing will rise from 280,000 euros to 340,000 euros next year.
Sailing is the first summer Olympic sport to be placed in the top sports support program in the Huippu sports unit’s enhancement support programs.
The subsidy for strengthening gymnastics, which has been in the middle of a lot of trouble lately, will decrease from 165,000 euros to 138,000 euros next year. One development target is the development of a coaching culture for rhythmic gymnastics.
The story is updated.