Orienteering world champion Pasi Ikonen has died at the age of 43. Ikonen suffered from an incurable disease caused by a brain tumor called astrocytoma.
Former national team guide Pasi Ikonen has died at the age of 43. Ikonen died in the hospice unit on the night between Friday and Saturday, exhausted by a long-term illness caused by a brain tumor.
The death was confirmed by Yelle Ikonen’s spouse.
Ikonen won the sprint World Championship gold in 2001 and was a four-time World Championship medalist.
Ikonen achieved his last World Cup medal in 2011. At that time, he was second in the long distance race in Savoie–Grand Revard, France.
Ikonen suffered from alcoholism for a long time, but he sobered up in 2018 with the help of Minnesota treatments. In the peak years of his sports career, he also suffered from severe psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety.
In 2017, Ikonen was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor called astrocytoma. The discovery was made by chance when Ikonen fell on his bike and hit his head. The brain tumor was operated on several times and in his last years, Ikonen relied on a separate helmet when navigating, because a significant part of his skull was missing.
In his professional career, Ikonen was known as a navigator who did not use a compass even in the dark forest.