Krista Pärmäkoski received an important signal in the WC general – the expert still needed sharpness

Krista Pärmäkoski the condition of freestyle skiing has been a question mark this season. At 20 kilometers, the results have been excellent, but that distance is not skied at the World Championships.

At 10 kilometers, Pärmäkoski was superior in the WC, but in the World Cup the results on this distance have been 20th and worse.

That’s why ninth place in Pärmäkoski’s Toblach race on Saturday was a positive signal, even if the difference was a winner to Ebba Andersson was 47.3 seconds and almost 14 seconds to the last prize place. According to Pärmäkoski, the situation seems to be under control.

– The important signal today was that the skiing felt clearly better. And there is no alarmingly big difference for the prizes. Everything is still possible, Pärmäkoski told Urheilu.

Pärmäkoski regretted that he didn’t get the super finish he needed in his race, but on the other hand, he didn’t get any help from others. Also Urheilu’s expert Ville Nousiainen thought Pärmäkoski’s skiing looked sticky, and he couldn’t accelerate in the same way as in his best days.

– 10–20 seconds harder, and the medal is on the fork. Ebban and Jessie’s (Diggins) the difference in speed is big, but as has been seen before, the results can swing in a completely different direction from the last races before the value races, Nousiainen reminded.

– But I would like Krista’s performance to look a little more cheerful on the hills. That it wouldn’t be as heavy as it was today.

“Let’s fight for the medal positions”

Pärmäkoski’s ninth place was the best of the Finnish women’s team, because Kerttu Niskanen was the 12th Eveliina Piippo 24th, Jasmi Joensuu 31st, Emmi Lämsä 37’s and Anne Kyllönen 42:s.

Women’s coach Jussi Piirainen admitted that he was a little disappointed with the results, but the belief that there are better things to come for Planica remains strong.

– We will of course fight for the medal and for good positions. This year, Krista has also had good vapar competitions, so there are chances for the top places. Kerttu has skied consistently good freestyle competitions, but there is a lack of individual top success, Piirainen said.

Niskanen was not completely satisfied with his result, as he would have liked to go “a bit better”. According to him, the heavy weather contributed to the fact that the differences grew large.

– However, I can’t be sad. The condition is good. Yesterday, it was positive to find sharpness. It wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t catastrophic either.

Looking for a fourth skier

Based on the results of the season, Pärmäkoski and Niskanen are strong for the Planica 10 km race. For other skiers, Saturday’s competition was an important display.

Jasmi Joensuu said on Friday that she would have preferred to focus on skiing only in Friday’s sprint and Sunday’s relay, but was almost forced to ski on Saturday as well.

– Maybe the wording was wrong, but there was a lot of input here. Everyone can calculate that when four are allowed to ski in the World Championships and last weekend I was fifth (in the World Championships), Joensuu said.

– I wanted to ski two trips. We’ll see if I can ski tomorrow.

Piirainen reminded that in addition to Pärmäkoski, Niskanen and Piipo, the others do not have a ranking in the top 20 in the free 10 kilometers.

– Jasmin, Anne and Emmi must be able to show at the world level that they can ski harder. Let’s go based on results, Piirainen said, referring to Planica’s World Cup selections.