Finnish para sports legend Leo-Pekka Tähti took home a bronze medal from his last Paralympics. Porilainen sent wonderful greetings to his fans.
Joel Sippola,
Emma Jump
If a wheelchair curler Leo-Pekka Tähti still swallowed his bronze medal after the T54 class 100 meters as a small disappointment, the feeling with the medal around his neck was already significantly more positive. The Paralympic medal is the eighth of Tähte’s career, who has had a great sports career.
The first medals came 20 years ago from Athens. At that time, there were two golds brought to Finland.
– Yes, it symbolizes something. 20 years into his career and 20 years since he won his first Paralympic medals. A pretty great decision for the Paralympic career.
The Paris Games were therefore Tähti’s last as an athlete in terms of Paralympics.
Tähti already stated earlier that the bronze was the maximum compared to the starting points. He has suffered from Achilles tendon problems this summer.
– It’s a big medal. It wasn’t very easy mentally to go along. However, 20 years is a long time, so this is a tough thing, Tähti was happy.
In Tähti’s opinion, the award ceremony always has a special atmosphere. A large number of close friends had come to Paris to watch the last Paralympic performances of Porilaintähti.
– It’s great to be there, even if it’s not on the middle podium every time. It has its own charm.
– There were many acquaintances in the audience. Among other things, father, mother and sister. Friends were also there. There was no need to fly them here for nothing, Tähti threw.
“Unconscious
Tähti is a true legend of Finnish para sports. In addition to eight Paralympic medals, he has 12 World Cup medals and 14 European Championship medals.
The star is proud of his career.
– It couldn’t be better. My whole career has gone down the drain. The Paralympics are the toughest in terms of level.
– Just about every para athlete wants to succeed here, so it’s a big deal to have been able to bring home medals for 20 years. It’s unconscious when you really think about it.
The star will be in Paris until the end of the week, so he will still get to enjoy the atmosphere of the competition and the beautiful city of Paris itself.
At the end of the interview, the star sent his greetings to his fans.
– Hopefully the young stars of the future will raise their heads and dare to realize their own dreams. Everything is possible. This is one story among others, but hopefully this will give something to others as well, Tähti stated with sensitivity.