Para -skier Ink inola is one of Finland’s few medal hope at the Winter Paralympics starting in a year and a month later in Italy in Milan and Cortina D’Amppezzo. The 14th of the History The Paralympics will be held from 6 to 15. March 2026.
The season in Inola, which competes with the visual limit, has been promising. Last weekend at the Paralympic Pre -Championships in Val di Fiemme, Inola placed his guide skiers Arttu Kaario With a tough company in the traditional ski sprint, fifth and in the traditional ten kilometers fourth.
Inola was not quite satisfied with the Val di Fiemme race. In his opinion, the first season was waiting for better.
– At the dozens, I noticed that the sharpness was a bit exhausted, especially from even work. The uphills went well, but then the difference between the flat. Especially technical terrain such as downhill and curves are a clear destination.
However, the upcoming paralympic trails seemed to fit Inola, even though certain track points were initially poorly marked and there was a challenge for the visual impairment at high speed.
– Especially now that there was a heavier weather, those downhill weren’t too fast. But if these tracks are skied in a year, we hope that there will be the same weather as it is now. So the slower the better for myself in terms of downhill, Inola thinks.
In January, Inola grabbed two gold medals from the Torino Universiads. A ten -kilometer free victory came together by the guide skier who was ill Reetu Inkilän with and another gold was hung on the neck in a traditional sprint.
Finnish In the Universiad team For the first time, there were para -sports players.
Last season, Inola was second in the overall of the World Cup for the World Cup for the second year in a row.
During the training session
Summer and autumn went mainly in the domestic landscapes in Laukaa. There was also camp activities in Levi and Vuokatti.
The training season could have taken a darker direction.
– I managed to break my rib when a little racked the car in the yard and then the beak damper and a heavy front grille over the upper back. At such a suitable angle, the corner of the front grip came, he remembers.
However, Inola was able to jog and pushing evenly quite soon. The gym training was a short break and the free skiing required for the body was not successful, but otherwise he survived with fright.
However, the ingredients of an even bigger catastrophe were in the air. There were only a couple of kilometers left of the four -hour bike loop, while the front tire stuck downhill at the fourth pace.
– Then over the bar and straight to the jaw to the tantre. The face went a little new, but fortunately, mainly cosmetic disadvantages remained in memory.
In a civilian law
Inola is a notary degree, meaning that the law studies in law are in the final stages of the University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu.
– In May I would then be ready for a lawyer. I started my studies in business science in the fall and would be completed after Milan or by the spring of 2027 at the latest.
– In addition to my studies and sports, I have already done a bit of a lawyer in Jyväskylä and got practical work experience. I hope that after my sports career, I can move quickly to the paid job, Inola says.
Inola has also made its own contribution to the development of top-level sports in the Athlete Committee of the Paralympic Committee since 2022.
Toward Milan
Inola has already had two Paralympics. At the 2018 PyeongChang Games, his best investment was the seventh place in the traditional sprint. In Beijing in 2022, Inola was fourth in the traditional 20 kilometer skiing.
In Beijing, the bronze was not desperately far away. The goal is now a medal from Milan, and one day Inola would like to be no more or less than the best in the world.
– Nothing other than hard work, it does not require in practice. All areas must be developed. You need to get endurance, speed and technical and tactical skills, Inola sums up.
– With a good mood at this point, we are heading towards Milan. We are on schedule, as much development has been achieved in the last two years.
For Inola, in relation to the Paralympics, it was already valuable to experience the skate profiles of Val di Fiemmen.
– Know what qualities you still need to develop this last year. At the same time, he saw what the strongest points for others were and on the other hand where I could win myself.
Inola’s next stage is the World Skiing World Championships in Toblach, Italy in the middle of this month. Inola ski in the traditional way 10 kilometers and 20 kilometers free.
More World Championship medals will be solved with non-injured skiers in Trondheim, where the sprint competitions for the best skier. This is the first time that best skiing is organized in connection with the International Ski Association’s FIS World Cup.