Biathlon skier Venla Lehtonen, 27, was the last race of the season in Oberhof’s speed race. The season also brought joy.
20:31•Updated 20:59
Withdrew from the Oberhof World Championships after the sprint race Venla Lehtonen has to leave his season due to pericarditis. Lehtonen told about it on Monday on his Instagram account.
He froze on the last hill of the sprint and had to stop. At that time, cardiac arrhythmia was suspected.
Lehtonen fell ill with the corona virus at the beginning of January and later suffered from the after-effects of the disease.
– It’s been a tough week. However, the intention was to compete in the World Championships, but I had to go to Finland for examinations. When there was bad news from the investigations, there was little to deal with what happened, Lehtonen commented to Urheilu.
27-year-old Lehtonen is relieved that nothing more serious has happened. The continuation of a sports career is not at stake.
– I will recover completely from this. I can focus on the next season. When I have been able to get to the examinations quickly, I have been able to act as it should.
Pericarditis is on the mend. Lehtonen says that health is the most important thing of all, and you don’t take unnecessary risks because of your heart.
– Rest is the most important thing at this point.
Lehtonen does not want to speculate publicly about his health issues in more detail. However, he says that he felt that he had fully recovered from the coronavirus.
– There were good days and slightly worse days. When you come back after a flu or other illness, you never feel the best. Before the World Cup, there were no feelings in the heart, says Lehtonen.
Despite the premature end of the season, Lehtonen also got positive feelings from the competition season. The last seasons have been difficult for Lehtones.
He has reached the best place in the World Cup, 36th in December 2018. From the beginning of the season in Kontiolahti, he achieved the best performance of his career.
– Of course, I expected much more from the World Cup and the rest of the season. The top one is the 40th place in the Kontiolahti speed race. It was a really important competition for me and I’m really, really happy with that performance.
Above all, he was satisfied with his shooting. In three World Cup speed races, he shot zeroes.
– I expected even more from the skiing side, even though there were quite even bets there. On the other hand, better physics certainly also contributed to a better level of shooting. I was able to perform well and evenly. It’s not a once-in-a-season thing anymore.