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Figure skater from Tampere Nella Pelkonen, 18, is a young goal-oriented athlete. He wants to go to the top. Three years ago, Pelkonen got his first touch with the big games, when he took part in the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland.
After that, various ailments and illnesses hindered Pelko for several years, which prevented top performances.
– In earlier seasons, I’ve been in a lot of pain. There were stress fractures, sprains, asthma and injuries. You could say that every part of the body has had something at one time, explains Nella Pelkonen.
Although Pelkonen won PM gold somewhat unexpectedly at the beginning of 2023, last spring he got a strong feeling that something radical had to be done.
The feeling started when his second coach Christina Wendel announced that he was changing clubs from Koovee to Tappara.
– We started to talk about it with my mother and it was concluded that we should change the coach.
Minna Järvinen had actually coached Pelkos his entire career. Despite his young age, Pelkonen had already been training for 13 years. Figure skaters start training at a young age, Pelkonen started it at the age of 5.
– Minna and I had worked together for a long time and we were so close in a way that it didn’t kick forward anymore, Pelkonen says.
Pelkonen decided to change coaches.
– Of course I’m really happy for him, but on the other hand I’m sad that I’m no longer part of that pattern, I won’t deny it. Of course I understand and I agree with you, Järvinen commented to Urheilu in October.
The award-winning coach gave a new boost to his career
Pelkonen had met the coach from Tampere Susanna Haaralan, but didn’t know him very well. Haarala is an experienced coach who coached in his time Kiira Korven as a multiple value competition medalist.
At the national team camp in Vierumäki, Pelkonen asked Haarala to be his coach.
The collaboration between Pelkonen and Haarala started last June. In the same rush, the athlete’s club also changed from Koovee to Tappara.
For many athletes, a change of coach brings new stimuli to training and, by extension, development. It doesn’t work for everyone. In the case of Pelkonen, the change has brought results immediately after shaking hands.
Pelkonen has been very successful in this season’s international competitions. She was number one in the women’s free program at the Finlandia Trophy in October and finished fourth in the overall competition with her record score of 179.31.
The successes continued in November at the Espoo GP competition. Pelkonen was sixth in the overall competition, the second best European. Above there were two Japanese, an American, a Korean and a French.
– Nella is at her best in tight situations. He enjoys when he gets to measure himself in competitions, says coach Susanna Haarala.
Haarala has brought some new elements to Pelkone’s training.
– I can’t say that I have made any big mega-changes, but we have set out to advance the idea of being able to keep training high-quality. The rhythm of the exercises is also important, says Haarala, who is the head coach of Tappara figure skating.
Pelkosen has health problems in the background, so in the new training a balance has been sought in terms of rest and workload. The goal is to have more healthy training days.
– I have now avoided major illnesses, my asthma has been cured, rest and nutrition are in balance, Pelkonen himself characterizes the changes and says that his way of thinking has become more like a top athlete.
Haarala has also paid attention to a more comprehensive takeover of figure skating.
– In addition to jumps and pirouettes, expression and performance as well as small nuances and details are also important.
The days are spent in training and school
Born in Tampere, Nella Pelkonen was also involved in ballet when she was younger. Dance-like artistry has come as a blood inheritance.
– Mother has danced professionally. She was a dance teacher.
– I like and enjoy performing. If I didn’t enjoy it, I would have made the wrong choice of genre, Pelkonen laughs at the reporter’s question about performing.
Pelkonen lives with his family about fifteen minutes’ drive from the Hakametsä training center in Tampere. The family also includes a white-furred Husky dog Haiku, with whom Pelkonen goes jogging a lot, especially in the summer.
Pelkonen studies in the sports department of Sammo high school in Tampere and writes next spring. Apart from sports and going to school, there is not much else in life.
Pelkonen doesn’t always have time to go home after school, but goes straight to practice.
On a typical Monday, Pelkonen’s program after school consisted of less than an hour’s skating practice in the hall under the guidance of a coach. They were preceded by a warm-up and stretching in the gym.
The next practice started about an hour and a half later. The first part of the training included mobility and various speed exercises tailored for skaters. After that, it was time for dry practice of skating jumps in the gymnasium.
The second ice practice started later in the evening. Pelkonen trains six days a week at least twice a day. There is one rest day a week.
– You get study points for the morning ice practices, and school is flexible if you are absent for sports.
Pelkonen exceptionally got a driver’s license as a minor.
– It has made it a lot easier to be able to travel by car to training, competition trips and national team camps.
Pelkonen has risen in the world rankings
Good performances in international competitions have brought Pelkonen closer to the international top. He has risen on the world list with a bang. He is ranked 44th at the time of this writing.
– He is a young athlete who is enthusiastic about the high level of demands. However, he is not at maximum level yet. Time will tell how it goes, but there are no obstacles to getting to the top, says coach Haarala.
Pelkosen has good jumping and arch skating technique. Triple jumps are also fairly smoothly mastered.
– Next, you have to practice difficult triple triple combinations and triple axel, but there is still a long way to go before practicing the quadruple jump, laughs Pelkonen.
Next January, the EC figure skating competitions will be held in Lithuania. Two Finnish representatives are selected for women’s single skating. The selection is decided by the combined points of the two best races, one of which must be a GP-level race.
Before the weekend’s SC games, Nella Pelkone has the best points among Finnish skaters, so she will be seen in the first big adult competitions of her career.
Like many top athletes, Pelkonen’s future goals are high.
– Just as high as it can be. Of course, the Olympics are the biggest goal at the moment, smiles Pelkonen.