Finnish ski jumping returned to the bright lights when Vilho Palosaari became the junior world champion. Father Tero Palosaari tells about his son’s path to the historic championship.
Finland’s ski jumping promise Vilho Palosaari has made great strides this winter. The 18-year-old Palosaari got his baptism of fire in the World Cup last fall, but there was a real buzz in Canada when Palosaari became the junior world champion.
The World Championship gold was a much-needed flash of light for Finnish ski jumping. The individual gold at the Youth World Cup was Finland’s first in 18 years. Vilho’s father Tero Palosaari excited the events of the night of the race in Finland.
– It was a great atmosphere. I didn’t expect anything like this, maybe silver or bronze was in my thoughts. I then heard afterwards how the exercises had gone, Tero Palosaari refers to his son’s violent fall during the previous day’s exercises.
Success is the result of many things falling into place.
– The man has grown tremendously spiritually and developed as a person in other ways. Trusts his own doing. I’ve stressed to Vilho that he starts to believe that doing it on his own is enough and there’s no need to try too hard, says father Palosaari.
The world champion himself described his jumps that brought the World Championship gold as ugly.
– I am of the same opinion that the jumps were not Vilho’s best. There was a slight compression in the jumps. Probably the failure of the exercises was still on my mind. The jump of the first round was a smooth and nice flight, Tero Palosaari assessed.
The father protested, the son kept his head
Vilho was six years old when he got crazy from hill jumping. Meijer’s jumping hill in Kuusamo enchanted the young boy from Koltia, even though his father persistently tried to fight back.
– The neighbor’s son had started jumping and told Vilho about the exercises. I begged him not to go there, since ski jumping is a dangerous sport. I had to give up, but now I’m satisfied that he also got me there to Meijeri Mäki, Tero Palosaari recalls the events of years ago.
Kuusamo’s Erä-Veikko’s training sessions Matti Haataja played a big role when Vilho started getting to know the secrets of the sport.
– Development began to come, and the hills began to grow. We went to Taivalkoski and Ruka for many years, and of course we also went to competitions in other parts of the world.
Issä-Palosaari recalls that he quickly realized that his son could have the ingredients to become an international level jumper.
– At that time already on Meijeri Mäki, because Vilho had a terrible enthusiasm and a terrible passion for jumping. The other parents carried the children’s skis and I photographed Vilho running to the jumping tower. He always jumped five or six jumps more than the other kids. I thought that yes, this is his thing and let’s try to do something about it, the father describes his son’s enormous enthusiasm.
“Development never ends”
Vilho Palosaari jumped Kuusamo in his last years with sire Tero and Antti Koivuranta in coaching, but nowadays he lives and trains in Kuopio. In Kuopio, the former head coach of the A national team has taken responsibility for the development Lauri Hakolawho has led the youth project of the Finnish Ski Association.
Hill jumping is such a technical sport that the athlete is never ready.
– There is always room for improvement in this sport, development never ends. Everything always depends on the technology. Vilho has always been a resilient and tough guy, but also hard on himself. Perhaps you shouldn’t be so critical of yourself, Tero Palosaari points out.
This season, there will be even bigger crackers than Whistler, when the invitation will probably go to the World Championships in Planica.
– Vilho has already achieved and exceeded all the goals he set for this year. Now, I think he should just go enjoy himself and see what is enough for him at the moment. That is, relaxed own performances, sums up father-Palosaari.