Paralympic winner Santeri Kiiveri went to the pound more than the slopes after Christmas. The para-alpine skier is still confident about the World Championships, which start on January 18.
Para-alpine skier who won the breakthrough of the year award Santeri Kiiveri was not on Thursday at the Sports Gala to accept the award.
Kiiveri was already on the gala night in Espot, Spain, where the para-alpine skiing world championships will be held from the 18th to the 29th. January. The helmet is one of the big favorites.
Kiiveri, who won gold in the vertical giant slalom at the Paralympics in Beijing and silver in the combined super alpine, says that the training has differed from a year ago.
The snow situation in Central Europe is currently tormenting many athletes, Kiiveri is one of them.
– My skis are in Central Europe and there is little snow there. I’ve had to compromise a bit (on training). The early season has still been good in terms of training, Kiiveri told Urheilu before leaving for the World Cup venue.
The Paralympic winner admits that he went to Finland after Christmas more to pound than to ski slopes.
– Unfortunately, I did.
Kieviri finds the snow situation unfortunate. For example, the combined World Cup games have had to be canceled recently due to the warm weather in Central Europe, and the situation is not necessarily getting any easier.
– It’s a difficult situation: when something has been planned and you have to make a change, it’s not simple. Every year is different when it comes to snow. Sometimes it is less, sometimes more. You have to adapt to that.
If you compare your hitting ability to a year ago, is there a difference?
– It’s pretty much the same. Towards spring I have always been able to improve the landing. Now I have tried to fix the bill more urgently. Physically, I’m at the same readings as a year ago, or actually better.
Kiiveri did not participate in the 2019 World Championships due to a fainting fit.
Do the slopes freeze?
However, the helmet speaks of self-confidence. Last season was a huge success: a real breakthrough, which the Sports Gala also noted in a big way.
– Now I know what it takes to be successful in giant slalom. I can go through the same things and thoughts before the race. It sure helps.
Kiiveria was pleased that Beijing was a long-term project for him, which was successful.
– I knew how to aim for top condition for just the right days.
From the World Championships, Kiiver has a clear goal: to continue on the same course as in Beijing. Kieviri expects more new names in the medal hunt.
The big question for Kiiver is the race conditions.
It has been quite warm in Espot, Spain this winter. That would mean challenges, because a tight and slower slope would be difficult for a Finn.
Kiiveri says that he is at his best on fast and hard slopes, which were offered in, for example, Beijing.
– Temperatures have been high on the World Cup slopes. I wish it would freeze there and the slope would go to ice. It’s absolute for me. I can perform my own landing on an icy slope at best.