Figure skater Emmi Peltonen’s ankle was operated on in January. The recovery has been long, but progressed well. The past year has made Peltonen appreciate his sport even more.
Vilma Ahosola,
Laura Arffman
18:20•Updated 18:40
Figure skater Emmi Peltonen, 22, last competed in December of last year. It was the SC competitions, where he skated third. At the beginning of the year, Peltonen fought for a place in the Beijing Olympics, but had to miss the battle due to a prolonged ankle injury.
The ankle in question had been bothering Peltos for a long time. At the beginning of last season, he went to have his leg seen by an orthopedic specialist Marko Mykkänenand the sentence was severe.
– Your leg is like being blown away by the wind, there is nothing there, Mykkänen had stated.
Although Peltonen was aware of the need for surgery on his leg, he still tried to compete with it. The leg did not improve, the options ran out and the ankle was operated on in January 2022.
– For two years I struggled to go.
– The ankle was rebuilt. A tendon was taken from the calf, which is not needed. It was moved to the inside of the leg, below the ankle. A point that was no longer there was renewed, Peltonen repeats the measure.
Slow down
Naturally, it has taken a long time for the ankle to heal. According to Peltonen, it takes more than a year to go through the whole process. The leg should not be fully healed until the beginning of 2023.
– I’m pretty close to the standard level. In the summer, I already pulled myself to a tilt once. The leg was not ready at that point.
Peltonen says that he already jumps triple jumps and has enough enthusiasm for the ice. He admits that there has been a need for adjournments.
– I have to remind myself that you can’t take such a big piece of cake. Fyssars also remind you when you want to do more and be more on the ice.
Parents to help
Being injured and recovering from it brought uncertainty to Peltonen’s life. He received advice on handling the situation from his father, a hockey legend From Ville Peltos.
– Although there is skating in life and that is important, there must be more to life. Accepts it, starts thinking about the future and what to do next. Dad always says “so what, what now”. It has helped.
– My parents were “servants” to me in lust. Sorry to them, Peltonen, who spent his childhood in the United States, laughs.
But something good has come from the injury. It has given Peltone a perspective on things, including skating.
– You don’t even realize how difficult skating is when you do it every day. The double jump is just like water and the easiest triple jump goes like this, but what if you have to learn everything from scratch? Although the descent, or how the physiotherapist Maria Värtinen with the small muscle has been taught to work correctly.
New in the programs and on the racing fields
Peltonen is looking forward to the upcoming competition season, and he has his sights set on the EC home games in January. by Mark Pillay the planned competition programs have an equal amount of something old and something new.
– I kept the free program the same as last season and the short program was renewed. They’re shaping up well, I’m going to start off moderate. I train one week at a time. I can’t do anything about my competition. If I’m going to compete, I’m serious.
In November, Peltonen returns to the racing fields, which have changed significantly. You won’t see representatives of Russia’s great figure skating in the skating arenas this season.
– It’s clear that the field of competition is different, I don’t want to take a stand anymore, says Peltonen.
– Of course, the whole situation with the world and neighboring countries is sad to watch and absolutely horrible. When such a terrible thing happens, then the Games are not so important, Peltonen continues.
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