Bronze contractor Niko Vuorinen made the history of Finnish fencing in Budapest. The joy of success of an experienced contestant is mourned by Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
Niko Vuorinen32, won a bronze medal in the top category Grand Prix on Sunday in the Fencing World Cup series, which is the toughest stunt for Finnish fencing, at least for men.
– Good luck! The tournament was part of the World Cup program, but was a GP race worth only three in a year. It is a bit similar to the Grand Slam tournament in tennis, explained the satisfied Vuorinen.
For the second time in his career, Vuorinen finished third in the World Cup, the previous one came in Vancouver in 2017. The Vancouver competition was not a GP, so Vuorinen himself considered the achievement of Hungary to be the toughest act of his career. He is the only Finnish man to have reached medals in the World Cup.
Current coaching manager Minna Lehtola was the first Finn to win a silver at the World Cup in Gothenburg in 1991 and a bronze in Legano in 1993. The best achievement of the men before Vuorinen’s medals was Lars Winterin fourth farm in Heidenheim in 1991.
Vuorinen, who was ranked 36th on the world list, was really close to the final place. Bronze match for Hungary David Nagya against advanced time in a tie at 11-11. However, the mountain’s attack right at the start of overtime did not yield a result, and the Hungarian won by eight seconds in a counterattack.
The bronze match is not currently being played in the World Cup, but the losers of the semi-finals will be ranked third.
– In the extension, I had a plan to blur up and put it on my knee. He passed the long one and Nagy punished him. That was it then. Millin was left with a gold match, but I don’t think you can be satisfied here, Vuorinen admits.
– Since this is a GP race, you get a good odds of this on the world list. I calculated that with this bronze I would go up twenty places up to 16th. This is a tough thing in fencing, because then there is no need for awkward qualifiers at all.
There were as many as 267 participants in the men’s race in the Budapest competition. A total of nine winning matches were required for the bronze medal. In Friday’s qualifier, the Finn beat all five matches in the first round. On Sunday, he covered four opponents until he lost extremely little in the semi-finals.
The age of the mountain is not an obstacle to success in Paris
Vuorinen considered the sweetest scalp of the tournament to be the winner of the Rio personal film and the bronze medalist of the Tokyo team competition, the South Korean Park Sangyoung defeat. The tremendous struggle progressed to the decisive sting that the Finn achieved in the thriller. Eighth on the world list entered the stands.
– The gun was scattered at first, I was at a loss and I changed a little equipment in it. Then I started to get my own sting and the match got pretty tense as he led 14-13 to 15 points. It was up to the hair that didn’t miss the medal today. From the lower hand, I first got a handicap and then cannoned my own point. By far my best match here, says Vuorinen.
For the third year in a row, Vuorinen has been living and practicing fencing in Hungary. There are plenty of high-quality training partners, and the Finn also had to clear them in the GP race, which again included many Hungarians in the top 16.
Although Vuorinen is already 32 years old, it is not necessarily a negative factor at all in fencing. The 2024 Paris Olympics are a viable goal for a well-tuned contestant.
– I am aiming for that, but to a large extent it also depends on the financial patterns. Anyway, we need to look at how life and the future are progressing. Here, however, it is now being and is being practiced in Hungary.
– The winner of the 2012 London Olympics, who I think is a couple of years older, won here today. At the Rio Olympics, silver was awarded to a Hungarian who was 41 years old. In fencing in the thirties, the worst “hot highs” go away and are replaced by tactical things. The prerequisite is, of course, that you stay in good physical condition, the Helsinki Swordsman’s representative guides.
Russia’s hostilities are also haunting the Mountains
Although fencing is going well for him now, Vuorinen admits that the joy of success in Russia’s war in Ukraine is mourning.
– We have no distance to the Ukrainian battlefield than 200 kilometers. Humanity obliges us to talk about the facts.
– I am proud that the Finnish Fencing Association has been at the forefront of condemning the Russian attack, but the International Sports Federation lacks this statement.
Russian swordsmen are not allowed to compete internationally. in competitions, but Vuorinen still expects the International Federation of Sports FIE to be encouraged to condemn hostilities in Ukraine.
– There is, of course, a fear of funding in the union. And no wonder, when in 2020, for example, as much as 93 percent of the funding came from that one man. In a normal year, 60 percent of the funding has come from there. After all, this is way too much when the guy is on the sanctions list, though. There is a big notch in the wallet, Vuorinen knows.