Jenny Rautionaho’s ranking made the coach happy: “Before we were worried about whether we would qualify, now we already have a place on the podium” | Sport

The head coach of the women’s ski jumping national team, Ossi-Pekka Valta, was in awe of the performances of Jenny Rautionaho and Julia Kykkänen in the Engelberg ski jumping competition.

Jenny Rautionaho27, reached the best ranking of her career in the Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup for the second time within a day, as the continuation of Friday’s ninth place, Saturday’s race performance was good enough instead of fifth.

Rautionaho jumped 128 meters from Suurmäki in Engelberg, Switzerland in the first round, being seventh at that point. The four meters better flight of the second round improved the positions by two notches.

– Good race, and good things to do since qualifying, same basic level. I was able to maintain my own level in the competition as well, Rautionaho says in the announcement of the Finnish Ski Association.

Last season, Rautionaho finished ninth in the opening race of the season at the best in Poland’s Wisla. That race was held on plastic and in rainy conditions. Two weeks ago, Rautionaho made a promising effort in Lillehammer to places 11 and 12.

Also Julia Kykkänen, 29, performed well. His 22nd place on Friday improved to 14th place on Saturday. Kykkänen stretched the 121- and 120-meter jumps today.

– A great competition from our athletes, and a great overall contribution from Engelberg, where the women only competed for the first time, rejoices the head coach of the women’s ski jumping national team Ossi-Pekka Valta.

Valta emphasizes that no single thing explains the good overall performances and Rautionaho’s excellent fifth place.

– The athletes have trained well and done their job well. Then when the tools work, the pieces start to fall into place and everything works, self-confidence rises and positive results start to appear. In a certain way, these (results) have already been expected based on the autumn and early winter, says Valta.

The mountain coach sees that the feet must stay firmly on the ground despite the promising results.

– Both athletes have set their goal to be in the top 15. Of course, all better places are welcomed. Let’s continue the same dune and see what comes from there, Valta line.

The last Finnish podium finisher from 2014

Rautionaho moved to the top of the competition in Engelberg after his jump in the second round, and for a long time it crept into thoughts whether the Finn would even be seen on the podium in ski jumping. In the end, of the remaining six female ski jumpers, four passed Jenny.

– We are already close to the podium. Even today, it was a bit exciting because of what Jenny has enough for.

– Before, we were tense about whether we would make it to the competition from qualifying, after whether we would make it to the second round, and now we are tense from the other end. Awesome, says the head coach of the women’s ski jumping national team.

In 2018 Antti Aalto was 7th and even competed in the Ski Jumping World Cup competition for the podium place in Wisla, Poland. At that time, there were only 4.6 points left to reach the podium.

Before this, the Finnish man had been among the top ten in the individual World Cup race at the beginning of December 2015 in Lillehammer, when Lauri Asikainen was also seventh.

He holds the most recent Finnish competition victory Anssi Koivurantawho was number one in the Central European hill week in Innsbruck’s one-lap race at the beginning of 2014.

The most recent Finnish podium places are from Julia Kykkä, who was third twice in February and March 2014.

The Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup continues in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on December 29, when the unofficial Women’s Central European Hill Week begins.