Even being with Russia would not have prevented Finland from returning to the World Cup medals after a 14-year break, writes journalist Atte Husu.
10, 13, 25 and no print.
The figures show the best personal ranking of each Finnish relay athlete in the ongoing Planica World Championships.
Despite of Iivo Niskanen the main distance, i.e. 50 kilometers, is not to be expected until Sunday, it is a matter of course that from those starting points the silver medal is a sensation.
When Ville Nousiainen anchored Finland to a World Cup medal last time, bronze, in the 4×10 kilometer relay in Liberec in 2009, the result was rather budgeted than a surprise.
The last time the Finnish men were found in the final standings of the World Cup relay was as high in Trondheim in 1997. At that time, those who made up the Finnish team Harri Kirvesniemen, Mika Myllylän, Jari Räsänen and Jari Isometsän the average age was 31 years.
31 was also a trump card in Planica on Friday. 31 year olds Cross mat HakolaNiskanen and Perttu Hyvärinen started the team anchoring the bump, the twenty-year-old To Niko Anttola A 40-second lead that the pursuers thought was impossible to reach.
The game was already clear three kilometers before the finish, when the Swedish anchor Calle Halfvarsson moved to the top of the yacht group and Germany, France or Canada had no desire to go.
The last time the Finnish medal was just as clear was in the aforementioned 2009 World Cup bronze in Liberec. Anchor Anttola hardly remembers much about that competition, as he was six years old at the time.
No messing around
The best thing about the Finnish relay men’s World Cup silver medal in Planica is that even being with the reigning Olympic champion Russia would not have prevented the Finnish men from returning to the relay medals after a 14-year break.
If Russia had been involved, it would have pressed into the landscape with Norway. Hardly any skiing enthusiast would dare to put a cross word on this.
Fresh silver was a complete tactical success. Hakola held on in the opening leg, in the relay the practically unfazed Niskanen broke away from the main group with his brutal break, after which it was up to Hyvärinen and Anttola to keep the silver position and ski alone at the limits of their own abilities.
Kudos to Hullo
The result in question was made possible by the successful maintenance of Finland for the second day in a row. Already on Thursday, the women got a bronze medal thanks to their winning ski.
When taking into account the traditional skis worn by Finnish women and men, Mika Venäläinen the maintenance team led by him washed gold in comparison with the cupolas of competing countries.
In the world of Formula 1, the royal category of motor sports, it is customary that in addition to the driver who took the race victory, the winning team is also taken into account at the award ceremony, whose team manager is presented with his own trophy.
Skiing is a joint game between athletes and maintenance to such an extent that there is a reason to think about introducing a similar practice in the sport?
Although Finland did not celebrate gold on Friday, Venäläinen and his team have earned a medal.