The Finns’ inferiority in freestyle skiing came to the fore again when the Finns competed in a weaker way at the skiing world cup in Gomsi over the weekend.
Sports expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen constantly had to explain the misery of Finns to the viewers in Urheilustudio’s chat on Sunday.
Saarinen sees the matter as multi-caused, but highlights one thing.
– Freestyle skiing demands a lot from the muscle endurance of the legs. You should definitely work really hard with it. It has certainly been done, but something should be invented, says Saarinen.
On the other hand, leg muscle endurance sounds like a pretty simple thing to fix to the layman’s ears. Saarinen reminds that this is not necessarily the case in the big picture.
– In Sweden, Norway and Central Europe there are mountains and especially long climbs. The skiers of the countries in question have been climbing like that since they were young, Saarinen estimates.
The 15-time medalist reminds that it is still only his speculation.
– National team athletes get to Central Europe and long climbs, but is it already the problems of youth? As a child and young person, it is not possible to develop muscle endurance in the same way when there are no mountains in Finland, Saarinen illustrates.
Who surprised?
The biggest surprise of the sports studio weekend was the hill jumper Niko Kytösaho. He was no less than seventh in the lentomäki World Championships.
Kytösaho has never even been in the top ten in the World Cup. The last time a stronger Finnish success was seen in the lentomäki World Championships was 16 years ago. At that time, there were three Finns among the ten, Janne Ahonen was the best of them, third in the race.
Ahonen already explained the reasons for Kytösaho’s surprise earlier, but later returned to the atmosphere of 16 years ago in Urheilustudio. The 2008 World Ski Championships were the last where Ahonen won medals in his career. After that spring, he stopped, but came back to compete again.
Ahonen revealed in Urheilustudio that he regretted the first termination decision.
– Of course, nothing can be done about it. It is life. At that moment it felt like it. I regret the decision to quit because I quit for the wrong reasons. I really wanted to jump. I noticed it later. There was a bit of pressure that it’s good to stop at the top and now would be a good time. I stumbled upon other people’s opinions more than I would have thought about my own, Ahonen described.
What on earth?
The Finnish bench sports people have repeatedly wished that Urheilstudio’s team of experts would challenge each other and do the strangest challenges. Now the wish has been answered.
At the weekend, a new Sports Studio Task started. Janne Ahonen and Kalle Palander were challenged to learn breakdancing for a week.
Ahonen was still working on imagery training on Sunday.
– The goal is for us to be credible breakers. I believe that we will become incredible breakers, Ahonen described.
Who flopped?
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen makes the Finnish national ski team the flop of the weekend as a whole. In the expert’s opinion, Finland was slightly more successful than even moderate expectations.
The Finnish team especially stood out Krista Pärmäkoski. Pärmäkoski, who has been one of Finland’s top skiers for years, was only 38th in the 20 kilometer race.
Pärmäkoski was more than three minutes behind the leader. The last time he was as weak in a normal distance race was more than 15 years ago. In December 2008 in Davos, Pärmäkoski was also 38th. That race was the third World Cup of his career.
Pärmäkoski gave mysterious comments about his situation after the competition. He said that he knew the reasons for his poor performance, but did not want to reveal them. However, according to Pärmäkoski, it was not about the equipment.
– Yes, there were mysterious comments. When he has started competing, there can be no more serious reason, Saarinen was amazed.
What next?
Next, Finland’s best skiers will be seen at the end of the week at the Vantaa WC. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen is especially looking forward to it Iivo Niskanen racing. Finland’s number one star has competed sparingly this season, but she plans to compete in Vantaa on all trips.
After that, the World Cup tour continues in North America. First we compete in Canmore, Canada, and then we move to Minnesota, USA. One of the standard skiers of the national team in recent years Johanna Matintalo opened on Sunday in an interview with Urheilu, how not everyone can go to North America because of the Ski Federation’s financial difficulties.
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen reminds that the situation is not new. In the aftermath of the 2001 Lahti doping scandal, the Ski Federation’s financial situation was not terribly good either.
The Skiing Federation decided at the end of 2005 that Finland would not enter the World Cup competitions behind the rapako at all. Top names in Finland at the time, such as Saarinen, Virpi Sarasvuo and Riitta-Liisa Roponen decided to go to lower-level Alpen Cup competitions in Central Europe at their own expense.
– The situation is by no means good. Athletes get pinched all the time, but what can you do. I understand that flights behind the rapako cost quite a lot, said Saarinen.
Finland is not the only country that consolidates its forces when leaving for North America. Mahtimaa Even from Norway, only the so-called red group athletes can get to North America. It means that many top names will not make it to the Games. For example, the reigning winner of the overall cup who returned to the World Cup in the middle of the season Tiril Udnes Weng or this year, on normal trips, forged hard results Jan Thomas Jenssen.
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen sees it as a double-edged sword.
– The trip is terribly expensive and cross-country skiing is a small sport in the United States. However, the US market as a whole is huge. Cross-country skiing must be brought out there. If it is not brought out, the species will be drowned in the abundance of species in the United States, says Saarinen.
He reminds us that the North American competitions are now especially important because the American Jessie Diggins leads the overall women’s race.
– Cross-country skiing will definitely get attention there now. Now is a really important showcase for cross-country skiing. When skiing would grow there, the money would flow to the athletes at some point, Saarnen underlines.