Team athlete Leevi Mutru, 28, will end his sports career at the World Cup in Salpausselkä next Sunday. Illnesses in recent years made it difficult for Mutru to return to the top.
Finnish combined national team athlete Leevi Mutru end his sports career. Mutru, 28, talks about his decision to quit In the soundtrack published by the Ski Association.
Behind the decision to stop Mutru are financial and health reasons and the uncertainty they create. Mutru’s recent seasons have been full of bad luck and he has suffered from, among other things, heart problems and a cerebral hemorrhage.
Read more: Myocarditis, cerebral hemorrhage and a new heart problem – Leevi Mutru, who has experienced disappointments, has to think about whether it is worth continuing his sports career.
– Individual sports is a private enterprise and all the income that is made from it depends very much on success. That’s why the risk of training in the following summers does not guarantee any kind of income for the following seasons, Mutru says about his thoughts.
Mutru competed in the World Cup for the first time in the 2014–2015 season. At the World Cup level, Mutru was last seen in the Oberstdorf competition in February 2023. The last few seasons have been largely intermittent for Mutru.
– In that 10-year national team career, I was able to live the sports life I wanted and I’m really grateful for that. At its best, it brought the current family around me, Mutru, who lives with two children, says.
Mutru said on the soundtrack of the Ski Association that there is nothing left to worry about when it comes to a sports career.
– I gave my all in these last years and maybe in hindsight the screw might have been too tight.
Leevi Mutru also shared his decision to quit on his Instagram account.
Mutru from Lahti will be seen on the World Cup stage for the last time on Sunday in Salpauselka.
– It’s nice to end this ultimately great career at home games.
In 2019, Mutru finished tenth in the normal hill race of the World Championships in Seefeld. In the personal trips of the World Cup, Mutru finished ninth at best. Mutru competed in the Olympics in Pyeongchang 2018.