The Finnish Biathlon Union nominates Kalle Lähdesmäki to the board of the Olympic Committee.
The Finnish Biathlon Union announces that it will present Kalle Lähdesmäki to the board of the Finnish Olympic Committee.
He has served as the chairman of the Biathlon Union in 2006–2010 and since 2016. In the years 2010–2014, Lähdesmäki was the auditor of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and from 2021 a member of the IBU’s Financial Advisor Group.
The Biathlon Union says that Lähdesmäki will be independent from 15 December 2024. Iltalehti reports earlier this week that Lähdesmäki and the vice president Tero Pyssysalo had informed the members of the Biathlon Union that they are not available for the next term of office.
The biathlon association’s finances experienced losses of around 206,600 euros in the last fiscal year. As a result, the union’s equity fell into the negative, Iltalehti reported.
In its press release, the Biathlon Union believes that the board of the Olympic Committee needs experience and know-how like Lähdesmäki’s for the strategic work of elite sports and the athletic lifestyle, for maintaining strong integrity and for developing a management system.
By education, Lähdesmäki has a master’s degree in economics, who has spent his working career in the fields of trade and service business.
– In the Olympic Committee, clear goals and metrics must be set for other than just athletes. The efficiency of the use of resources is the most important means in one’s own hands to ensure a sufficient and sustainable economy for top sports, sports federations and different operating environments, Lähdesmäki points out.
The Biathlon Union credits Lähdesmäki with the strategy and coaching line of Finnish biathlon, which has been carried out from 2022 onwards by the Norwegian head coach By Erik Bartlett Kulstad under. In addition, the Biathlon Union highlights the equality and equality project carried out over five years as a particularly significant issue.
The new chairmanship and the board will be elected at the fall meeting of the Olympic Committee on November 30, 2024.