18 promising athletes were named to the Paralympic Committee’s Future Stars group. Laura Kangasniemi and Tiia Talvitie are aiming for the top of para sports.
On Monday, the Finnish Paralympic Committee selected 18 athletes for this year’s Future Stars group, who are aiming for a top sports career.
From the ranks of the group, which was founded in 2009 and has operated under the name Tulevaisuuden tähdet since 2022, several athletes have risen to the Finnish Paralympic team and through it to international success.
In the past, the only Finnish Paralympic champion in alpine skiing has trained in the group Santeri KiiveriParalympic archery champion Jer Forsberg as well as Paralympic medalists in track curling Amanda Kotaja and Henry Manni.
The future stars group trains at joint camps in Pajulahti four times a year, and in addition to physical and sports training, a lot of different coaching is organized for them to help them grow into top athletes.
Since 2022, the group’s coaching team has included, among others, an athlete role model, a five-time Paralympic winner Leo-Pekka Tähti. Last year, a person who ended his competitive career in snowboarding also joined the team at the Beijing Paralympics Matti Suur-Hamari.
– It’s great that the top domestic names in para sports committed themselves to the program and want to be involved in supporting future stars. The biggest challenge for us is how to transfer the special expertise of para sports to daily training and coaching, responsible coach of the Future Stars group Katja Saarinen tells.
“I can proudly be a para athlete”
For the year 2024, 18 promising athletes from seven different sports were selected for the group. Five of the athletes are new to the group. Most of the athletes continue to participate in the group for a few years.
Para rider Laura Kangasniemi has been in the group for several years now, and he feels that he is getting good keys for training and living as a top athlete.
– I had a really big identity crisis when I was injured and disabled while riding at the age of 17. The most challenges were with myself. I was already on a horse three months after the injury, but it was three years before I applied to para sports.
– In 2020, I underwent a disability classification and that led to the biggest job. The fact that I can proudly be a para-athlete and not always have the feeling of “get rid of the disability,” describes the 23-year-old Kangasniemi.
According to Kangasniemi, as a para athlete you have to work a lot so that training and competition are possible. That’s why all support is necessary when aiming for the top.
– I train with commitment and compete in para-equestrian internationally and in Finland also on the open side in dressage. At the moment, the goal is to get a place at the Paris Paralympics. It will be clear in the spring. The biggest goal is to win a Paralympic medal someday.
The level rises – the level of requirements increases
The international level of para sports has increased year by year, which also places demands on training. Athletes, including those in the Future Stars group, are required to be goal-oriented and committed.
– A large mass is still needed for the hobby side and it is a long process. At the club level, the situation has improved, and the doors have opened more easily for everyone, regardless of their individual characteristics, says Katja Saarinen.
– We can’t boast that there are still systematic paths for athletes in para-sports, where you can rise step by step towards the top. The jump from hobby level to national team level requires personal efforts. Today, however, we talk about developing into a top athlete, whereas before every young person who competed in para sports was sought out.
30 year old Tiia Talvitie started chair javelin a couple of years ago. A rare neurological disease disabled him, but Talvitie, who actively competed in different ball sports, did not give up. Now he is part of the Future Stars group, and the motivation to succeed is found.
Group support is preferable for a former team athlete. A Paralympic winner acting as a coach adds to the excitement Markku Niinimäki.
– I know from experience that the road to top sports is not easy, but I am committed to every step and phase, says Talvitie.
– My dream is to develop in such a way that I could compete at the EC and WC level. And yes, competing in the Paralympics is also on the horizon.