Janne Ahonen reminds that Jenny Rautionaho’s podium finish alone will not save Finnish ski jumping. Petter Kukkonen highlighted Rautionaho’s hard path to the top.
At the Hill Jumping World Cup in Sapporo, we saw a pleasant Finnish success when Jenny Rautionaho put in a great effort for second place. The prize winner is the first of his career.
Before Saturday, Rautionaho had reached fifth place twice at his best.
Urheilu’s ski jumping expert Janne Ahonen says that it has been brave to wait for a podium place.
– Even those fifth places came in such a way that there were not two equal jumps. It’s great that the first podium place has been grabbed, which will certainly make things easier for the rest of the season. All you have to do is let it ring.
Hard nerves
The race was held in a heavy snow storm, as is typical for the Sapporo race. Rautionaho showed his tough competitor’s nerves by landing his longest jump of the race, 120 meters, in the second round.
He managed to raise his ranking by two notches.
– It is typical for Jenny that after the first round the setup has not been good. Now he succeeded even in the opening round. It’s great that you can do your own thing in difficult circumstances, says Ahonen.
At the same time, Rautionaho ended Finland’s dark streak. The last time the Finnish ski jumper was seen in the individual competition of the World Cup was on the podium in February 2014 in Falun.
– This won’t save Finnish ski jumping. However, women have generally been seen doing good things. There are still a lot of good things to do around the sport in Finland. You can’t settle for this. You have to work hard to see a Finnish man on the ball again, Ahonen reminds.
Hard way to the top
The 27-year-old Rautionaho’s road to the podium is long and rocky. In his personal life, the athlete has had to go through very difficult things.
His mother Minna Rautionaho was sentenced in November 2021 to two years and four months in prison for aggravated embezzlement and forgery. The Court of Appeal later changed the sentence to a two-year prison sentence. Minna Rautionaho was released from prison in November last year.
– They say it hasn’t been easy for two years, Rautionaho said to Urheilu in the fall.
Rautionaho has made it his dream to win the Olympic gold.
– There have been stories from all over the world here. If you were to open them, many people would think that they would have finished in my shoes. Maybe at some point it will bear fruit and I will be the best in the world, Rautionaho said in the fall.
Rautionaho’s journey to the top sensitized the expert connected at Urheilustudio Petter Kukkonen.
– It has been a hard path to the top. It raises self-esteem. She is a tenacious woman.
– You don’t have to be on the podium a hundred times. Let’s see the next steps into the future and achieve something meaningful. Yes, I’m getting sensitized here too.