Finland is sending three female and two male athletes to the boxing qualifying tournament to be held in Bangkok, Thailand this weekend. The tournament is the last chance to get a place in the Olympic ring in Paris.
In the last two Olympic Games, Finland was represented Mira Potkonen, who bagged bronze in both Rio and Tokyo. Potkonen used to secure his Olympic place through the ranking, but nowadays the places are allocated based on qualifying tournaments alone.
There are so many people willing to go to the ring in Paris that the start of the qualifying tournament in Thailand had to be moved up one day to Friday.
All three female boxers from Finland Vilma Viitanen, Pihla Kaivo-oja mixed Krista Kovalainen have done well in the previous two qualifying tournaments in Poland and Italy, but it hasn’t been enough for an Olympic spot. Should be perfect.
– Pihla and Vilma have the best chances to reach the place. Krista is good to follow from there, says Mira Potkonen, who has coached her to two Olympic medals Maarit Teuronen.
Love at first sight
Vilma Viitanen has been boxing since childhood. He comes from a family from Mikkeli, where he has been involved in theater and boxing. His first contact with boxing came when Viitanen was seven years old.
– My brother and I went to watch the boxing matches, and my father was at Mikkeli’s theater singing and watching the matches. The following week, my brother and I were already at the boxing gym, and we both started competing when we were little.
It was love at first sight and boxing entered Viitanen’s life indelibly.
– It has always been a family sport. As a child, my brother and I have boxed each other and papa has judged us.
Viitanen has also already had time to succeed in youth leagues.
In 2017, he competed for European Championship silver in the under-17 series. Since then, there have been two prestigious medals in the under-22 category, European Championship silver and European Championship bronze. In addition, the merit list includes the GeeBee and Tammer tournament wins.
Viitanen has recently moved up the division and now fights in the 60-kilogram category, because the weight reductions to the match weight of the lower division took too much strength.
– We started thinking about what is the wisest solution in terms of health and decided that 60 kg is the series where I am at my strongest. The decision was made together with the whole team, the doctors and everyone was involved, explains Viitanen about the series change.
Animal nurse
Viitanen is the type of athlete for whom sports alone are not suitable for everyday life. He wants more in return.
She works as a nurse assisting a veterinarian. The work is versatile.
– I prepare surgeries, insert cannula, hydrate, calculate and administer medication, which is of course supervised by a veterinarian. I assist the doctor during surgeries, supervise the anesthesia and after the surgery I supervise the recovery. A bit of everything.
As a rule, Viitanen trains about 11 times a week, so in addition to the work day, he often has two more training sessions a day.
– Everyday is quite busy, but I like it.
Viitanen’s coach is someone from Kazakhstan Askar Sarsenbayev.
The coaching relationship has already lasted seven years and is working well.
– Askar is like a second father to me here, when my own family is in Mikkeli. He is a really important support and knows me very well, says Viitanen.
The support does not only apply to boxing, but also to civilian life.
– Askar makes sure that everything is fine. If I’m sick, he comes to me with shopping bags and helps in every way. We have a really confidential relationship, Viitanen praises his coach.
Concentration exercises
Although sometimes you can read sad boxing news in the newspapers, where a fighter has died in the ring at worst, Viitanen does not feel fear.
– I’ve always known that everything will be fine and nothing terrible can happen.
Viitanen also uses a mental coach to help him, with whom he does concentration exercises, among other things. They strengthen one’s own qualities and go through a certain kind of mental preparation for the match.
Sometimes you can talk with a mental coach about things that occupy your mind.
– Let’s talk about what’s weighing on the mind and what’s on the mind. Talk like that and it always helps. Sometimes the conversations have nothing to do with boxing and that’s where you figure things out yourself.
On the day of the match, Viitanen wants to keep the atmosphere light and does not start concentrating too early.
– I like to have fun with my coach and teammates, chat about things and keep the atmosphere light.
He starts to really concentrate only when he gets to the ring.
– At the moment when I’m about to walk into the ring, the gloves are in my hand, the punches have been hit and everything is done, I remind myself of what I can do.
– I can’t help but do my best, give my all and believe in what I’m doing, Viitanen sums up his match philosophy.
There are already EC medals in the trophy cabinet
Born in 2002, Pihla Kaivo-oja is still a young boxer. However, he has already won European Championship silver and European Championship bronze in the under-22 category. He was also sixth in the under-18 World Championships.
Kaivo-oja is a former team gymnast who changed sports at the age of 14 due to an injury. Gymnastics has also been useful in boxing.
– Body control, rhythm and everything like that. It has given me a good foundation for any sport, says Kaivo-oja about her gymnastics background.
Kaivo-oja competes in the 50 kg category and belongs to the rarer group of left-handed competitors. Only about ten percent of boxers are left-handed.
However, Kaivo-oja thinks that left-handed boxers have become more common in international circles, even though they are an exception in Finland.
– I personally don’t feel any huge difference in it. It’s just how you know how to utilize your own qualities and use them in the ring. Everyone has two legs and two arms.
Kaivo-oja now focuses only on boxing and feels that it has helped him enormously.
– It’s an optimal situation and it’s good that I can recover between training sessions. There is no need to rush to work or study. You have to be grateful, reflects Kaivo-oja.
“I try to think about other things, so that the day doesn’t go by in a rush of competition”
Boxing is a tough sport, and the opponent’s mental edge must be in order.
Are you ever afraid to get in the ring?
– You can’t go there if you’re afraid, laughs Kaivo-oja.
– It’s a great day when you get to get into the ring and I’m looking forward to it again in the upcoming games.
However, Kaivo-oja also uses a mental coach for help. Meetings can also be about dismantling the past or thinking about the future.
– Let’s talk about how the day and week are going, what’s been on your mind. Maybe we’ll focus a little on the upcoming race and prepare for the departure, says Kaivo-oja about his upcoming meeting.
In mental training, we also go through psychological concentration for competitions.
– We have gone through how to wake myself up and how to prepare for the upcoming competition. We have also gone through routines that work for me.
On the day of the match, Kaivo-oja starts focusing on the match only a few hours before.
– It depends on what time of the day the match is, but I usually try to think about other things so that the whole day doesn’t go by in a race. I try to be pretty relaxed.
Potkonen as an important support
For both Pihla Kaivo-oja and Viilma Viitane, multiple boxing medalist Mira Potkonen is an important person.
Viitanen even had time to tour the games with him before Potkonen ended his career.
– It was really great. I learned a lot and got encouragement, praises Viitanen.
Potkones was a great help and support even when Viitanen had just moved up to the women’s league.
– It is not such an easy step to rise from juniors to adults. It takes a lot of adversity and losses to rise to the highest podium.
Viitanen’s coach Askar Sarsenbayev knows what awaits the boxers in Bangkok.
– There will be no bad opponents in the qualifiers. Every match is like a final, winning is important. You have to win 3-4 matches if you want an Olympic place.
He believes he was strongly protected.
– Vilma has good opportunities there. The best have got a place and those who are left were watched through the video, says the coach.
Potkonen is also an important support person for Pihla Kaivo-oja. In addition, Maarit Teuronen, who piloted Potkonen’s Olympic medals, has been Kaivo-oja’s coach for a year.
– Yes, Maarit knows what it takes to get to the Olympic rings and that she can still get results there, says Kaivo-oja.
Maarit Teuronen states that the consistency of Kaivo-oja’s performances in matches still needs to be polished a little. Otherwise it looks good.
– If Pihla has a good day and feels good, then she has all the possibilities. He has good concentration, he listens and the technique is good, Teuronen estimates.
The world tournament, which is decisive for the Olympic qualification, will be held from 24 May to 2 June. in Bangkok, Thailand.