The Biathlon World Cup season ended on Sunday. After a few years of break, the season was quite successful after a few years.
Suvi Minkkinen Made a breakthrough to the top. Minkkinen was seventh in the World Cup overall. He was third in the World Cup twice and also took bronze in the World Cup. Minkkinen ranked among the top ten in the World Cup 13 times.
Sports Expert Kaisa Mäkäräinen According to Finns, the season was really exceptional.
– I don’t think anyone dared to wait for us to see so many awards. Suvi Minkkinen was third three times, one of which hit the race. And then minkkinen and Tero Seppälä Pair of a prize -podium. It is really exceptional that messages can also succeed at such a high level. In my career, there was no message from the prize money at all.
Minkkinen and Seppälä won a pair of cavities in Oberhof and also took one third place.
Minkkinen really raised his level a lot and, above all, convincing was steady.
– He was able to take podium investments throughout the season and, above all, really even tenths. There were no really bad races like one quick race in Anterselva. This is also exceptional in biathlon, where investments vary quite widely and everyone has failures. Suvi also survived them very little, Mäkäräinen said.
Known as a good shooter for a long time, Minkkinen, 30, was heavily focused on taking a new step in the ski side. With its partners, he raised € 15,000 and practiced high in Central Europe for a long time.
– Suvi has said that in the early summer he moved a little aside and, above all, invested in skiing and physics. Because he had a good shooting in the background, it was possible to do it, Mäkäräinen said.
– He trained a lot in the tough terrain and then began to make more of it into a biathlon performance in late summer. Well designed training season and very well implemented. In the winter, he has been able to keep up with a good race. It also requires skill from both the coach and the athlete.
Minkkinen’s coach is Mikko Viitanen.
The prize money Minkkinen accrued around € 145,000 this season, so the investment was also financially worthwhile.
Mäkäräinen states that it is no longer possible to take one big steppe Minkkinen as it came to this season. But what can he still improve?
– If you think about next year, of course you have to stay healthy. Do not go to the Över, you must be able to be in control.
– In ski technology, he will certainly still be able to develop quite a lot. Basic endurance can also be improved to withstand long races. Top puffs have come to the couple’s strokes and instant races, where a shorter trip is skied.
This season, Minkkinen has lost about 35 seconds in the best skiing speed of the fast race. Then it usually requires zero shooting to reach the podium.
Medal candidate at the Olympics
Next year is the Olympic year. Minkkinen showed this season that a medal is possible.
– If he is able to skiing at a little bit of a little bit of a bit of a skiing and keeping the shooting level the same, then of course he is a medal candidate, Mäkäräinen said.
Mäkäräinen reminded that even the shooting level is not a matter of course, and that also requires work all the time.
– The first season will show what the competition is like next year. Everyone else is training and everyone else has a tough investment in the Olympic year. The Olympics are high, it requires higher training and mountain training.
Other Finns succeeded
In addition to Minkkinen, other Finns also succeeded this season. Tero Seppälä succeeded with Minkkinen in couples and for the rest of the season also in personal competitions. Olli Hiidensalo He succeeded on the normal journey of the World Cup, where he was fourth.
– It was great for women to see that Sonja Leinamo and Venla Lehtonen They were able to get up in the tenth jacket on personal trips. For Venla, the early season looked really good and then unfortunately came the illnesses that forced him away for the rest of the season. For him, the interest in the next season is high.
Mäkäräinen also reminded that both Finnish men and women were tenth in the land points, which will bring five places for next season for quick races and normal trips.