Everything points to Krista Pärmäkoski pulling the plug on her skiing career in the spring. If this happens, the timing will suddenly feel very special, writes Pekka Holopainen.
Pekka Holopainen Sports journalist
Krista Pärmäkoskithen Lähteenmäki, already profiled himself as a skier in his twenties as a person whose mouth only utters measured speech in the presence of the public word. The girl from remote Luhalahti didn’t give the click headlines a shot – even though the whole word was still a future at the dawn of her career in value competition 15 years ago.
Against this background, Pärmäkoski somber soliloquy At the top of Alpe Cermis, there was a lot of confusion a week ago. Pärmäkoski said that he climbed the final climb of the Tour de Ski for the last time. When it is well known the great importance of the classic tour to the processes of approaching prestigious competitions embroidered in his coaching programs, the idea inevitably flew further. And then such a message started coming from those who know the soul life of the athlete deeply, that he would leave his active career in the spring.
A snappy litzer
The news is harsh for the women’s national team and the sport, but it is even more surprising that such a hint comes from Pärmäkoski. He, if anyone, would have thought that he would tell everything only in due time. This kind of “small talk” doesn’t suit a woman’s style at all.
Ending it would be a harsh blow to the women’s national team and a sharp blow to Finnish individual sports. If that’s the case, greed for money doesn’t seem like the athlete’s most dominant character trait. Pärmäkoski could forge hundreds of thousands more euros if it continues beyond the Milan Olympic season.
Viaplay expert Sami Jauhojärvi ended his career shortly seven years ago. His employer in a mini-documentary he stated that he “was tired of being tired”. But Jauhojärvi never hinted at his intentions at any point during his last season and, uncharacteristically for him, was downright irritated when the signatory in the front field made the news.
Jauhojärvi finished 8th in his last main competition at the Lahti World Championships 15 kilometers (p), with a maximum effort 16 years after his first prestigious competitions. He knew that individual medals had fled to the horizon.
Genuine faith?
Since Pärmäkoski, who made his value competition debut 15 years ago, intentionally or accidentally opened the debate himself, let’s allow the game of thought stemming from this. When the athlete, who was already thinking about quitting in the spring of 2022, decided to continue around the last summer, the idea was guaranteed to be a three-season project to Milan and the Olympic spring of 2026. But if the genuine belief in personal top success has now disappeared, a woman with such a CV will not stay in the landscape because of points.
Of course, the Tour de Ski is not a necessary intermediate stage towards prestige competition glory. It was already shown Marit Björgenwho skipped the 2009-2010 Tour as the first superstar and took three golds at the Vancouver Olympics.
The 17-time Norwegian number one in the prestigious championships, just in personal trips, is the culmination of winning. Fortunately, and unfortunately, Pärmäkoski’s most prosperous years coincided with Björgen’s, Therese Johaugin or Justyna Kowalczyk mixed Charlotte Kallan. There were mainly sleeping places in front of the goal.
Great stats
Five individual medals from prestigious competitions, only Finns have been able to do the same in the 21st century Iivo Niskanen. Medals from eight prestigious events, the same numbers are only from this millennium Aino-Kaisa Saarinen. Medals for all forms of competition except sprint – split start and pair sprint in both skiing styles. Three personal medals from one of the Olympic Games. There is not even a Finnish comparison point in recent history.
But what is missing is what is found in all the national team colleagues mentioned above: value competition gold. A dozen prestigious medals in a nationally significant sport without a golden climax is probably a unique record in the history of Finnish sports.
But in this case, let quantity far outweigh quality.