Paris Olympics on channels 26.7.–11.8. Go to the competition website here. You can find the entire program of the games here.
The Finnish sports nation has come across a new kind of situation during the Paris Olympics. When there has been no medal success, the stage has been open to slightly more unknown names.
Perhaps the brightest among them has been a 13-year-old skateboarder Heili Sirviö.
Sirviö, who was born in Finland but moved to Australia at the age of five, managed to skate in the Park very well. He made it to the finals and ended up fifth. The ranking is so far the best Finnish boxer at the Olympics Pilha Kaivo-ojan and a mortar thrower Silja Kosonen with.
Sirviö is the youngest Finnish Olympic athlete of all time, which has sparked discussion. His coach father Fredrik Sirviö hoped for more support for her daughter after the final. Sirviö could also represent Australia, as he has the citizenship of both countries. Isä-Sirviö said according to Ilta-Sanomthat there should be more support so that her daughter would represent Finland in the future.
Sirviö has not been able to receive the training grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture or the support for enhancing elite sports distributed by the Olympic Committee for the simple reason that the recipients of these grants must be at least 16 years old.
– There aren’t many athletes younger than that at the top in sports, and there is often a minimum age limit for prestigious competitions for adults as well. At least these have been the basis. The Olympic Committee has also reached a lower age limit of 16 in its own support measures, the Inspector General of the Ministry of Education and Culture Kari Niemi-Nikkola replied to STT.
The top sports coordinator of the Finnish Skateboarding Association Antti Koskinen Sirviö has indeed received support, although not directly in the form of a grant.
– It is system-level support. The head coach Jussi Korhonen get coaching support. There is support for camp and competition costs, which in Heili’s case is allocated to coach costs, says Koskinen, who worked as an expert in ‘s Olympic broadcasts.
Working in Paris as the manager of the Olympic team Leena Paavolainen told Iltalehte, that Korhonen’s coaching support is around 15,000 euros per year. In addition, according to Paavolainen, Sirviö has benefited from the finishing costs of Paris during his Olympic career.
During the Olympic trip to Paris itself, Sirviö has been supported, among other things, by ensuring that the family is able to participate as much as possible. For example, the accreditations entitling to performance venues and the competition village are not always self-evident at the Olympics, even for guardians and coaches.
A big sport for sponsors
The Olympic history of skateboarding is still short, but on the other hand, it is a global sport whose biggest stars are able to earn significant sums, for example, through sponsorship contracts and thus promote their careers.
– The sport has only been under the radar of the national Olympic committees for a short time. Professionalism and sponsorship have come to the sport specifically through private companies, and of course it still exists, says Koskinen.
So it’s a sport where, by being successful, you have the opportunity to get even big ones, amounts significantly larger than national grants.
A good example is the sports superstar who won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics when he was only 13 years old, Britain’s Sky Brown. Now, at the age of 16, he celebrated his second Olympic bronze medal. At the time of his signing, Brown became the youngest Nike-sponsored athlete ever and appeared in the brand’s advertising campaign Serena Williams and By Simone Biles with.
Brown was awarded as the 2021 young sports personality at the traditional gala of the British broadcasting company BBC.
– Yes, the Tokyo Olympics brought Sky a huge amount of international attention. It was noticeable that interest and partners started coming from everywhere, says Koskinen.
The comparison with Brown is of course unfair, but Sirviök has also received a lot of international attention in Paris, which may well attract the interest of sponsors. Sirviö revealed to Urheilu that, for example, the skateboarding legend Tony Hawk had come to greet and praise the performances.
Sirviö’s thoughts were also suitable for the international media – although the fact that Sirviö’s best friend, the Australian Arisa Trew14, won Park’s Olympic gold.
Exceptionally young athletes attract attention
It is the young age of skaters that amazes many, and not only in Finland. Sirviö was the youngest competitor in the finals, but only an 11-year-old Chinese participated as the youngest in the qualifiers Zheng Haohao. Japanese in Tokyo All Hiraki reached silver at only 12 years old.
The Olympic Committee made a careful assessment of whether 13-year-old Sirviö can be sent to the Olympic Games. Koskinen considers evaluation only a good thing. In skating, the age range has traditionally been exceptionally wide – in Paris, the oldest participant was a 51-year-old Briton Andy Macdonald.
– It stems from the culture of the sport. Young adults or such late teenagers have perhaps come to the fore the most. The phenomenon has existed for a long time. Tony Hawk said in his own public appearance before the Olympics that he turned professional at the age of 14, says Koskinen.
– It has been found in the sport that this is okay and at a young age it is possible to achieve such skills that one is remarkably good and among the best in the world.