The Stora Tuna team, which has won the three previous Jukola relays, is guided by four of Svenski’s brothers. They have been training together since childhood.
broadcasts Venloje and Jukola’s messages on TV2, Areena and Puhee. The broadcast of Venloje’s message starts on TV2 on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. and on Jukola at 10:45 p.m.
Since 1949, no team has won the Jukola relay four times in a row.
Now the Swedish Stora Tuna OK has a chance to achieve that trick, which it didn’t even succeed in Thierry Gueorgiou starred by the Kalevan Rasti dynasty, which celebrated in consecutive years 2012–2014. Tampere Pyrintö 1961–1963 has also been able to win three straight.
Running with the triple portion of the Borlänge club that won in 2019, 2021 and 2022 Joakim Svensk says that Stora Tuna is aware of the historic occasion. He does not directly answer the question about possible additional pressure.
– It is amazing that we have done so well that we are in this situation. It’s fun to talk about, but during the race we don’t think about it. When we stand on the transition boom and the guy from the previous section sends us on our way, the focus is completely on our own orienteering performance. Metsä doesn’t think that we can win for the fourth time now, Svensk told Urheilu.
Victory is once again in Stora Tuna’s sights. According to Svenski, the most important thing is that everyone runs at their own peak level.
– We know that we have as good a team as last time. We really have a chance to win. If everyone succeeds in their part, it can be enough to win.
According to Svenski, the message success in Jukola is very important for the Swedish club.
– Jukola is certainly one of the most important goals of the year for almost all clubs. We want to be involved and succeed every year. It’s the highlight of the year that we’re betting on.
By the power of brothers
Stora Tuna is an interesting case in Jukola, drawing from Aleksis Kivin’s Seven Brothers, also in the sense that no less than four of Svenski’s brothers are guiding it: Joakim, Jesper, Emil and Victor.
Four of the brothers have also been able to win for Jukola in the ranks of the Tampere Police Athletes in 1964.
According to Joakim, competing with brothers and being successful feels fun. They say there is no secret recipe for success for the Svenski family. The brothers have always trained together and a lot in practice.
– We have been involved in orienteering all our lives. Stora Tuna has created excellent conditions for training even when we were small. There were lots of camps and fun stuff. We have naturally stayed with the sport and wanted to invest in it.
In terms of Finns, expectations of success rest on the shoulders of Tampere’s Pyrinnö, who finished second in the spring Tiomila, Kalevan Rasti, who ran fourth in the same race, and Helsinki’s Suunnistaije.
Svensk also mentions these three Finnish teams when asked about challengers. Before that, however, he mentions a couple of others.
– Among the Swedes, OK Linne was very successful last year. IFK Göteborg is always tough. Norwegian NTNUI won Tiomila this spring, Svensk lists.
There has been success in Finland in recent years, but Sweden’s big relay Tiomila Stora Tuna OK has not managed to win. According to Svenski, it is difficult to say why that is.
– It has happened a bit like that. We have been very successful in Jukola a few times. Jukola’s sections have suited our composition very well. In Tiomila, we have not always been able to do the same. That is also our big goal, in which we want to succeed. We still have to work towards that.