Inka Kärkkäinen fully participates in her sister’s sports career. At the same time, the breaking of the Finnish record takes away the standard question of Lehikoinen’s interviews.
21.7.•Updated 21.7.
When Viivi Lehikoinen ran in the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles in Oregon, USA, his sister Inka Kärkkäinen excited performance in a London hotel.
Kärkkäinen says that he was not really stressed before the start of the competition. Lehikoinen was more calm in his messages than, for example, before the Tokyo Olympics or the preliminaries of the World Championships.
After the starting shot, Kärkkäinen, who is responsible for his sister’s partnerships, media matters and much more, was nevertheless seriously nervous.
– I even screamed a little when I saw how well Viivi fought, Kärkkäinen says about his feelings while watching the competition.
Kärkkäinen says that seeing Viivi’s joy after crossing the finish line sensitized him too. Lehikoinen’s storm of emotions was also visible when he arrived for an interview with .
– Viivi usually doesn’t show his emotions particularly abundantly. The interview sensitized me even more than the result, when I saw how Viivi was really in a happy state and knew how to enjoy the moment.
– I was like wow. This is why Viivi has been doing this since she was little.
After realizing that his sister broke Tuija Helanderin Kärkkäinen, who holds the 34-year-old Finnish record in the 400-meter hurdles, thought about how much Helander has pushed Lehikoi forward in his career.
Another thought was that the record was finally broken.
– Now Viiv no longer has to answer questions in every interview about whether the Finnish record is about to be broken. It is also easier for the athlete himself that the question does not have to be discussed constantly in public, Kärkkäinen states.
Difficult years are also difficult for the background troops
Kärkkäinen says that the most difficult years of Lehikoinen’s career, after the skyrocketing results turned into difficulties, were also difficult for the athlete’s close circle and background troops.
Although sports were still played to the fullest, no results were produced and this also affected Lehikoi. When going on competitive trips, instead of the result, the most exciting thing was how the athlete can handle the disappointment that the result level has not yet turned in the right direction.
Inka Kärkkäinen clearly remembers the competition trip in Belgium in the summer of 2020, when Lehikoinen once again ran a lap of the fenced track in over 59 seconds. Lehikoinen burst into tears after a race that went poorly and wondered why nothing seems to come from running.
– Five minutes after that, Viivi was already wondering if it was Laurent Meuwly present at the games. Viivi wanted to make repairs, Kärkkäinen recalls.
Lessons for Matti Heikkinen in Lehikoinen’s story
Responding to the coach’s wishes and building a long-term career has also required a lot of patience from the background team. In 2021, Lehikoinen fell out of the scope of the Olympic Committee’s athlete grants due to poor results and received only one thousand euros in financial support from the Finnish Sports Federation.
When the camping expenses ran into thousands of euros and when implementing the investments needed by the new coach, the euros were often tight. Kärkkäinen thanks Lehikoinen’s long-term partners who made it possible to continue his career.
– When the collaboration with Laurent began, Viivi thought about how much this and that cost. I told him then that these things will be arranged. Fortunately, we have not had to compromise on any sporting matters, but we have managed to find the money to implement the package.
It has been much easier for Lehikoinen to start this season, because more partners have been acquired and at the beginning of the year, Lehikoinen again received a tax-free athlete grant of 10,000 euros. However, without the persistence of Lehikinen and the support team, the end of his career in the fall of 2020 could have been the most likely option.
Kärkkäinen hopes that, for example Matti Heikkinen In his new position as the director of the Huippu sports unit, he learns from Lehikoinen’s story.
– I have to figure out what has happened in the career of a top promise of Viiv’s level and what could be done differently. The financial support euros are of course important, but above all you should think about what kind of support could have been given to Viiv and the then coach Jussi to Ihamäkiso that the direction would have changed earlier.
– There is a lot of expert knowledge in Finland, but not enough support is given to the grassroots level. We should think carefully about why no one asked what we were worried about and what could be done differently, Kärkkäinen states.
Although Kärkkäinen has previously also criticized the activities of the Finnish Sports Association, SUL’s current head of coaching has Tuomo in Salose and with the director of coaching and training Jarkko with Finn a significant role in the fact that Lehikoinen is now in SE condition.
– Tuomo played a really big role in us catching Laurent. Jarkko, on the other hand, has helped in getting the pattern to play. Fortunately, there have also been changes at the federal level since Viivi was at the very bottom, Kärkkäinen states.