Kaisa Mäkäräinen is worried about the state of Finnish women’s biathlon – especially the speed of skiing is a problem

The biathlon season ended on the weekend at Holmenkollen in a moody Finnish mood, when Mari Eder mixed Nastassia Kinnunen ended their careers. The final event of the season also left a positive taste when Tero Seppälä finished eighth in the men’s joint start race with two penalty laps.

Seppälä and Suvi Minkkinen were especially the biggest Finnish achievers at the end of the season. The two flashed several times at the end of the season.

At the Oberhof World Championships held in February, Minkkinen was eighth in the regular race. Seppälä, on the other hand, was tenth in the joint start race of the same games.

– Suvi has been very confident and fast on the shooting range. When he has improved his skiing speed a bit, he has achieved the best rankings of his career, Urheilu’s expert Kaisa Mäkäräinen amount.

Seppälä’s early season got off to a flying start. He tried a technique change that didn’t work.

The 27-year-old Finnish athlete was also in pain.

– The beginning of the season was a bit of a change. In the middle of the World Cup, he made a bold move and the rest of the season turned out to be a positive one.

The joys of the rest of the season also included the youngster Otto Inveniuswho reached 12th place in the men’s sprint race with Kollen. Also in the joint start race, Invenius fought for a long time to get into the top ten.

Olli Hiidensalo and Tuomas Harjula flashed in the beginning of the season, but in the end of the season, especially Harjula’s performances were underwhelming.

– Hiidensalo was really smooth. Invenius had good successes at the end of the season. The future is visible on the men’s side.

A big gap on the women’s side

When Kaisa Mäkäräinen ended her successful career three years ago, Mari Eder became the number one name in Finnish women’s biathlon.

During his career, Eder won two races in the 2016–2017 season.

– In addition to ending my own career, this is the hardest place of all. I have lived with Mari my entire biathlon career, Mäkäräinen felt sensitive.

Mäkäräinen has seen the ups and downs of Eder’s career up close. Eder’s performances varied a lot during his career.

The past season was difficult for the 35-year-old Eder as a whole, but he was still able to keep up a good pace on the track.

– He has been one of the toughest skiers for a long time. It is not easy to maintain strong physical stamina, Mäkäräinen reminds.

With the terminations of Eder and Kinnusen, there is a big vacuum on the women’s side. Minkkinen is the clear number one name in Finland.

– If many people said after I quit that there would be a big gap, there will also be a big gap now, says Mäkäräinen.

One of the regular faces of the national team Venla Lehtonen had to miss the season due to pericarditis. However, the 27-year-old woman still plans to continue her career.

Mäkäräräinen says that the clear weakness of all Finnish women is the lack of skiing speed.

– Skiing speed is not sufficient. Even if you sometimes do well on the bench, really good positions are still not achieved because there is not enough speed.

According to Mäkäräinen, it is also a worrying sign that the games are mostly the same women.

– Outside of the five places, there are no young people who could be promoted. I worry about what the future holds.

On the men’s side, there is also an 18-year-old youth World Championship medalist Arttu Heikkinen is an interesting name.

– In men, the age structure is younger, Mäkäräinen adds.

Norwegian Erik Kulstad served as Finland’s head coach in his first season. He has an option for the next three seasons, but so far nothing has been heard about the extension.

In Finnish biathlon, the head coach’s chest has been a windy place in recent years.

– During my career, my coach changed roughly every couple of years. I hope to find out what the situation is as soon as possible, says Mäkäräräinen.

Incomprehensible Bö

The absolute number one name of the biathlon season was Norway Johannes Thingnes Bö. In Oberhof, he won five World Championship golds and seven medals.

He took the World Cup season to his name in superior style. He won an incredible 19 times in 25 races. That’s the single-season record for wins.

– He won everything possible this winter. He was still able to raise his already hard level. How he can maintain that level remains to be seen.

Mäkäräinen reminds that behind Bö, the other Norwegian men were also in high spirits. In the women’s world cup season, the victory went to France Julia to Simon.

– The women’s competitions were clearly more interesting. There have been more nationalities in the top ropes. In France, young athletes are making their living.

In addition to the Finns Eder and Kinnusen, several of the brightest stars in women’s biathlon – at least in Norway Marte Olsbu Röiseland and Tiril Eckhoff and Germany Denise Herrmann-Wick – announced that his career was over.