Four people decide on Mika Lehtimäki’s extension – The Board of the Olympic Committee was not told about the warning Lehtimäki received: “It would have been good to know”

Sports said on Thursday that the head of the Olympic Committee’s top sports unit Mika Lehtimäki received a warning last fall about inappropriate behavior against women in the work community.

Lehtimäki issued a warning to Urheilu and said that he had changed his behavior.

At the beginning of March, the Olympic Committee appointed Lehtimäki to continue in office until the end of 2024. Lehtimäki thanked in the newsletter (you are moving to another service) 2.3. The Board of the Olympic Committee’s confidence in the work of the Finnish top sports network.

However, the Board of the Olympic Committee did not elect Lehtimäki, but the CEO was jointly responsible for the election Mikko Salonen and Chairman of the Board Jan Vapaavuori and the Vice-Chairs Sari Multala and Susanna Rahkamo.

– The actual decisions have been made by the CEO of the Olympic Committee, who has consulted with the Bureau, ie me and the two Vice-Chairmen. For some reason, Lehtimäki has wanted to thank the entire board. Formal decision-making has gone so far that the CEO has decided and the presidency has blessed it, Jan Vapaavuori says in an interview with Urheilu.

According to President and CEO Mikko Salonen, the continuation of Lehtimäki has been prepared and decided together with the President and CEO and the Presidium. According to him, the decision on the future of Lehtimäki was made by the presidium.

– We have had a process in place for a long time, in which the supervisor’s subordinates are always confirmed by the supervisor’s supervisor. The decision on the future of Mika Lehtimäki was made by the Presidium of the Board of the Olympic Committee. The chairman’s decision would have been enough in itself, but the decision was made by the presidency, Salonen says.

In addition to the Bureau, the Board of the Olympic Committee has ten members. Sport interviewed athlete members Mika Poutalan and Anni Vuohijoki and the President of the Judicial Association Esa Niemen. They told Urheilu that they only received information about the Lehtimäki case from the news.

In addition, a member of the Board and the International Olympic Committee Sari Essayah told Urheilu via text message that he only heard about the warning Lehtimäki received in the news. He declined the interview, arguing that he was not present at the previous meeting of the Olympic Committee Board.

No other members were reached or they refused to comment on the case. Sport also did not reach the vice-chairmen of the board.

The Board of the Olympic Committee discussed the further election of Mika Lehtimäki at its meetings, but according to Chairman Vapaavuori, the Board did not have a formal role in the election. Only the CEO and the presidium knew about the warning Lehtimäki received.

Should the board of the Olympic Committee have been informed of Lehtimäki’s warning?

– It would have been good to know about the warning. I don’t know if anything would have been done with the content. All in all, they would have been good to go through. Transparency is rarely any harm, says board member Anni Vuohijoki.

CEO Mikko Salonen told Urheilu by phone on Friday night that the warning given to Mika Lehtimäki about inappropriate behavior was a very possible legal sanction, in which case it could be issued.

– We were rightly of the opinion that the measures that led to the warning – which had therefore been agreed between the parties, and the very possible sanction for them – were indeed such a punishment that it could not seem to be out of the labor market indefinitely, Salonen says.

Wouldn’t the biggest punishment legally be for not continuing in office than for being given a warning?

– When it comes to labor law, there are, of course, tougher penalties, two different variations. If you go there, then of course the actions that are being examined and verified must be such that they can be punished in accordance with the law, Salonen replies.

Salonen was asked later in an interview with Urheil on Friday about how the incident that affected the discussion will affect how Lehtimäki can continue in his work.

– Of course, this is a natural part of the overall reflection that comes up when the matter comes up. That is probably something that everyone involved is considering, Salonen says.

The Olympic Committee’s Top Sports Unit manages and coordinates Finnish top sports in co-operation with, among others, sports federations and the Ministry. The subsidies received by associations and athletes for top sports are based on the preparatory work and selections of the unit led by Lehtimäki.

For example, the Center of Excellence makes presentations about the recipients of athlete grants. Grants are awarded by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Most of the funding for the Olympic Committee comes from the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Director – General of the Ministry Esko Ranto tells Sports that he was not aware of Lehtimäki ‘s warning before Thursday, when reported on the incident.

The funding of the Olympic Committee comes mainly from the Ministry of Education and Culture, what is the responsibility of the Ministry to guide the unit and the selection process of the head of the unit?

– We do not interfere in the selection of individuals. We have no right to that. The Ministry of Education and Culture never takes a position on the personal choices of any individual grant recipient.

Story edited 25.3. at 9.10 pm: It has been specified that Esko Ranto was not aware of Lehtimäki’s warning before Thursday.