Elian Lehto, who excelled in the men’s steeplechase, has an exceptional characteristic for Finns. Kalle Palander hopes that the young Finn will beat him.
Elian Lehto achieved by far the hardest feat of the Finnish alpine skiing season so far, when he was 11th in the legendary Kitzbühel plunge. No Finnish male skier has been able to do something similar in the downhill at the World Cup level.
In women Riitta Ollikka has been at its best tenth 51 years ago. He has been responsible for the second best ranking in the men’s category Andreas Romarwho 11 years ago was 14th in Schladming.
Sports expert Kalle Palander was surprised that the 23-year-old Lehto was able to make such a move already at this stage of his career. Before Sunday, he was in the top 20 twice.
– This is one of the hardest results in Finnish alpine skiing that has been seen. At least on the men’s side, Palander taps.
The 1999 slalom world champion justifies his point of view, among other things, at the competition venue. Kitzbühel is one of the most prestigious, if not the most prestigious competition in the alpine circus. Palander has celebrated two slalom race victories there.
Lehto came to the attention of the Finnish sports public for the first time last year by placing 20th in the Val Gardena plunge. The man from Rovaniemi trains with the Swiss national team.
Lehto has set its goal to be the top of its class.
– He is an unfathomably tough guy. I thought he would crack the top twenty once this season. The guy has gone forward with a big threat. He has told me all the time that I can be better, says Palander.
– In speed sports, you don’t just click your fingers to get there. You have to be humble and patient, Palander adds.
In a class of its own
In Finland, alpine traditions are more on the side of slalom and super slalom. The number one name in domestic alpine skiing at the moment, Lehto, comes somewhat surprisingly from the speed sports side.
In the early 2010s, from Vaasa Andreas Romar was a hard pacer. In the 2013 World Championships, he was fifth in the plunge and fourth in the combined super alpine.
According to Palanderi, however, Lehto is in a class of his own as a Finnish pacer.
– There were places in Wengen and Kitzbühel where he could have gone even harder. The level of basic performance is unimaginably hard.
– He is the first accountant in Finland who has complete control over the invoice. All credit to Romar and other speed athletes, but Elian is really very fast. Most importantly, he has the kind of speed that the rest of us have a hard time understanding on the demanding slides.
Better than palander
Although speed sports have their own risks, Palander wants to give Lehto a clear message.
– Now it’s worth just pressing when you go. We’ll see how the boy does tomorrow, Palander refers to the second diving competition to be held in Kitzbühel on Saturday.
At the age of 23, Lehto is still a young guy for skydiving. Many of the stars of the sport are experienced athletes.
Sports often talk about prestigious competitions, but Palander says that the whole season is important for alpine skiers.
Palander has the most World Cup competition victories among Finnish alpine skiers, 14 in slalom and giant slalom. He expects that Lehto will make it better.
– Many have said that it will not be crushed in my lifetime. Elian has shown that it is really possible. When we start fighting for victory, the risk level increases. At least he’s off to a good start.