Judoka Martti Puumalainen, who arrived on the red carpet, is looking forward to tonight’s gala above all to meeting people from different sports. He had already met the wrestling legend Pertti Ukkola, and that was a cool thing.
Puumalainen won the European championship in November. It was judo’s first competition medal in 30 years, and for this reason Puumalainen is a candidate for the Most Exciting Sports Moment.
The man from Puuma has a clear number one candidate for this category.
– It was Martti Puumalainen’s European championship. Second then (Wilma) Murro’s World Championship bronze.
After the EC gold, Puumalainen has received a lot of publicity.
– It was important for the entire sports community, since there hasn’t been a prestigious medal in 30 years. I had the pipe cut off, and now those medals will surely come from others as well, Puumalainen believes.
– I have noticed that the gang now recognizes me differently and comes to talk. All the encounters have been nice and the people have been nice, so it hasn’t bothered me at all.
The name of the Puma native has already been mentioned in the medal speculations of the Paris Olympics, but he himself is not interested in such predictions yet.
– I don’t even remember my own match day. I focus on today and getting to bed early and training in the morning.
Joel Holma interviewed.