Jenna Laukkanen, who has suffered several setbacks in recent years, had a riding accident during her summer vacation. The multiple prize medalist has found the joy of competition again.
Joel Sippola,
Antti Sahlström
It was supposed to be just a normal riding moment with a childhood friend. A proven way to get away from top sports for a while.
Multiple medalist in the swimming competition Jenna Laukkanen left in August at the end of his summer vacation with his friend on horses. They tend to pull fast.
Laukkanen had been on a horse thousands of times without any major bumps.
– When we usually go off-road, we press a decent pace. The horse got a little too excited in that situation. The horse was afraid of the rope gallop, and there was no way I could stay on. I flew in an arc to the front of the horse’s head.
Laukkanen survived the situation unscathed, but it could have been worse.
– Everything happened so quickly that I didn’t think it was such a bad situation. When you really think about it, it was a pretty bad situation. It’s a big animal. The foot got a little caught on the stand and caused a sprain on the side of the ankle and lower leg.
– Fortunately, it wasn’t more serious. The leg swelled a little and there has been some stiffness. Have had to give it a little rest, because it hasn’t quite taken all the load.
Already the next day in the pool
Laukkanen, who has won six short-track and two long-track EC medals in his career, has had health problems and eating disorders in recent years. Sometimes the motivation has also been missing.
Laukkanen told Urheilu about his experiences last year. He described that the bad feeling erupted in hysterical crying.
– I tried to get rid of that bad feeling somehow, Laukkanen opened.
Adversity has also developed Laukka. He narrowly escaped a riding accident in August. The very next day he was in the pool.
– People have been working on the psychological side here for so long that somehow it wasn’t taken as such a big deal. The very next day I was able to go to the pool. You can do anything in the pool, even if there is a small hole.
– I believe it had a purpose. It held me back a bit, not starting the season too enthusiastically and training too hard too quickly.
The World Cup as a goal
Laukkanen’s spring and summer, who debuted at the Olympics at the age of 17, were marred by illness. Despite the difficult starting point, Laukkanen wanted to participate in the long-course EC swimming held in August in Rome.
Profiled as a breaststroker, Laukkanen swam 50-meter distances in different styles at the Games. One of Laukkanen’s main sports has been the 50-meter breaststroke.
Recently, Laukkanen has had difficult moments especially in the 50-meter breaststroke, as well as in Rome. However, the competition starts in the long track European Championships were mentally important. It is now easier to go to future competitions.
– The last race did not leave a very good taste in the mouth. All in all, it was important for my career to be there and be able to swim a few events. A couple of sports were quite well performed, but not what I expected.
– I got a lot of things from there that you can start working on for the coming season. Clear areas for improvement were found.
Despite the difficult starting points, Laukkanen has been satisfied with the outcome of his autumn training season.
– There is a calm feeling now. It doesn’t feel like you have to press the panic button all the time.
Laukkanen will compete in the Berlin World Cup this weekend on four trips. After that, the season continues in Sweden and Espoo. He wants to culminate his season at the Short Track World Championships in Melbourne, Australia in December.
– It would be nice to break the World Cup limit. I believe that I was able to break it in these games. However, I go one race at a time. Many years of cloud castles have been drawn here and hoped for, but nothing comes that way. Print will come if there is to come.
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