Jenny Rautionaho reached the top ten in the World Cup for the first time. He says that last season he was at worst three kilometers per hour in uphill speeds.
Jenny Rautionaho reached the top ten for the first time in his career last weekend in the opening competition of the Ski Jumping World Cup in Wisla, Poland. Rautionaho finished ninth in his first race, being at his best fifth after the first round.
– At first it was hard to believe the ranking, Rautionaho tells Urheilu.
Rautionaho was at her best after the first round in fifth place with her 124-meter kite. The second jump of 117 meters was over-attempted.
– There was no test round, so I was able to make my own relaxed jump for the first round. I tried to improve and didn’t trust my groundwork and the second jump fell apart. It started spinning too much forward and stayed lower.
According to Rautionaho, already Klingenthal’s tenth place in the GP races in October indicated that he has enough guts to be in the top ten. Success is the sum of many things.
– We have been training differently than before all summer. The technique has been refined, although there is still a bit to do to get the last meters in the games. The equipment is also more suitable for me, Rautionaho says.
A significant change in momentum
In the second race of the weekend, Rautionaho was 18th, which would also have been the best result of his career.
Before last weekend, Rautionaho had reached the twenty checkers twice (19th and 20th), last year in Willingen, Germany. He was often on either side of thirty during the season.
The season was difficult and it was visible in the acceleration hill.
– I got new socks and it was very difficult to move to the ice rink after the summer. At best, I stayed a kilometer at uphill speeds. It was a big deal last winter, Rautionaho says.
This season, Rautionaho was able to jump from the ice rink in October. He has also improved his acceleration.
– I am no longer far behind in pace. Of course, there is work to be done on uphill speeds, but that situation is better.
Goals among ten
At the weekend, other Nordic countries were also seen in the dozen. In addition to Rautionaho, three Norwegians and one Swede were seen in the first race. Swedish Frida Westman was fourth in the first race, but reached third the next day.
– He has played in the Continental Cup and the World Cup for a few years. Of course I’m happy for him. Only a couple of years ago we were fighting for the same places in Continental.
– Now there were Norway, Finland and Sweden among the ten, and of course that gives you hope. I don’t think there will be anyone else coming up in Sweden in the near future, but even in Finland you can still jump into the twenties. I hope that as the season progresses, I would also knock on the podium.
Rautionaho is training at home in Rovaniemi until the World Cup in Lillehammer. The goal is to reach the top ten many times this season.
– The goals are of course to jump well in every competition. When I saw that doing my own foundation is enough for my twenties, I went to wait for those positions, Rautionaho says.