The drizzle sometimes condenses into drops and the sky is dreary gray, but freestyle skier Jon Sallinen doesn’t complain. He descends into the snow chute at the cameraman’s request again and again. After that, the same is repeated at a nearby jump.
The snow chute, or halfpipe, located in Sipoon Talma is significantly smaller than the superpipe used in value competitions, but according to Sallinen, the bad weather and the lack of marking lines make it even scarier than its big brothers. Overcoming fear and the resulting adrenaline rush are the things that fascinate Salli in the sport – and the desire to show off.
– When I was younger, I always wanted to show my older brother and his friends that I dare to pull wild tricks. I was the guinea pig that was thrown to test the speed of the first jumps. That’s how I got into their circles, and it’s certainly created the foundation that is why I’m in this situation now. I remember how big a moment it was when for the first time I beat my older brother in a competition. Maybe even today I want to show on social media that I dare to do tricks.
By trick, Sallinen also refers, for example, to swimming jumps, which he does from the most different places, such as railway bridges and cliff ledges. In a certain way, the desire to show off is also related to his types of bread.
In freestyle, the halfpipe scepter is in North America, but Sallinen wants to prove for his part that it is also possible to reach the top in Europe and even in Finland, where nowadays there is not a single full-scale halfpipe. Vuokatti’s and Ruka’s halfpipes have been out of use for several years.
According to Sallinen, the nearest halfpipe suitable for training is located in Switzerland.
Despite the circumstances, Sallinen has managed to become one of the world’s elite in his sport. He made his breakthrough last season after winning the World Cup silver, the World Cup competition victory and the X Games bronze.
Purely looking at the scoreboard, this season has been a bit quieter, but Sallinen says he still took important development steps. The last two World Cup competitions in Calgary brought him podium places and sealed the third place in the World Cup at the same time. The Finnish accountant says that he wrote down his own goals before the start of the season.
– My goal was to participate in all World Cup finals and in the top five in the overall ranking. I also wrote down two podium positions. I achieved all of them and in my opinion the season went really well. I feel that I have improved as a halfpipe counter. I have gained more confidence and am able to perform even under pressure.
Hurjapää is not startled by small bumps
Despite his success last season, Sallinen did not receive a direct invitation to the X Games event, which is highly regarded in sports circles. However, he was able to participate in the competition as a substitute after the second runner was injured during the practice of the competition. Unfortunately, bad luck also followed the Finn in the competition.
– With the last trick, I took small pans when the ski came off on the way down and I fell on top of the ski that came off. The side and shoulder got a pretty hard blow and the air went out in the yard so completely that I couldn’t get oxygen for a moment.
– I’m not sure if there were any fractures. I didn’t go to the doctor. When traveling, the doctors usually always say that it will take a while for the places to get better. I can figure that out myself, and I didn’t feel like anything worse had happened. I did have to bite the tooth in the following weeks.
The World Cup competitions in Calgary were counted just a little over two weeks after the X Games competition, so the opportunity to recover increases the value of Sallinen’s performance even more.
Olympics in mind
The Olympics that will be held in two years, for which he has started developing new tricks, are also constantly on his mind.
– I try to do tricks that others don’t do or that haven’t been done before. The Olympics is a big goal and it will come quickly. I would like to be remembered there as the guy who stood on the podium and not as the guy who tackled the cameraman, Sallinen smiles, referring to his collision with the cameraman at the Beijing Olympics.
In addition to competitive drive and the desire to show off, the trump cards of the Finnish hurjapää include good calculation techniques.
– My strength in pipe is versatility. One of the judging criteria is that it can rotate in each of the four directions, i.e. forwards and backwards in both directions. I always try to include it in my race invoices. My counting is also smooth, that is, the style is good and calm. There is no creaking in the bill, but it goes modelly and cleanly. That’s certainly one thing the judges like too.
Sallinen says with a twinkle in his eye that it would be fascinating for him to be unofficially crowned the best all-round calculator in Finland. The ground work should at least be in order, because his repertoire of skiing sports has also included skicross, alpine skiing, backcountry, big air and slopestyle.
Only ski jumping and cross-country skiing are missing from the list?
– Of course I’ve tried them too. I’ve skied Murtsia and I’ve also come down from the jumping hill. Although, I haven’t worn ski jumps, I used normal skis. However, I won’t tell you more about it, because it might not have been completely authorized.