Finland won one gold medal in the World Orienteering Championships. Ville-Petteri Saarela took first place in the sprint.
The World Ski Orienteering Championships in Keminmaa have been a medal for the Finnish team. The Finnish team won a total of six medals in the competition. Crown Ville-Petteri Saarelan world championship in sprint.
Today, in the final trip of the competitions in the sprint message, Finland was excluded from the medal standings. Finnish couple Salla Koskela–Tuomas Kotro was fourth and a couple Sonja Mörsky–Ville-Petteri Saarela arrived at the finish in sixth. However, this did not dim the overall result of the Finnish team as head coach Tapani Partasen with.
– We were able to perform very well in these competitions. Six medals is the maximum performance that could be expected here, Partanen says.
At the World Championships, the Nordic countries, led by Norway, Sweden and Finland, dominated the medals in individual competitions. According to Partanen, new forms of competition introduced in recent years, such as chasing and sprinting, have brought new countries to the top.
In these World Championships, the individual world championships were divided into five different countries. In addition to Sweden, Norway and Finland, gold was also celebrated in Bulgaria and Estonia.
– It is quite a wide spectrum, if six gold medals were offered to so many five different countries, Partanen says.
At the same time, the world championship medals for children under the age of 20 were decided in Keminmaa. He excelled as the best athlete on the Finnish team Niklas Ekström. He won three championships in the mixed forests of Lapland. Maria Hoskari reached the world championship on a sprint trip.
The success of the European Championships for under-17s was also wild. Pyry Riissanen won two European championships. On the girls side Eevaliina Ojanaho, Sanni Hoskari and Anni Salmela each managed to grab European Championship gold from personal trips.
– We have very talented athletes rising towards adult series. The jump will not happen to a peak in a couple of years. We have a high level of sport culture and good competitions are held in Finland. Last winters have been snowy, it has also been reflected in the number of enthusiasts, Partanen says.