According to the sport manager of the elite sports unit, the scholarships of experienced track and field athletes who failed last season were not wanted for the Olympic year. Saga Vanninen paid the price for this.
9th place in the world ranking, more than 100 points from 3rd place. 9th place in the World Championships. In the under-22 European Championship, already the fourth gold medal in the youth championship. A septuagenarian Saga Vanninen is one of the greatest talents in Finnish sports and a significant candidate for success already next summer at the European Championships in Rome and the Olympic Games in Paris.
When at the end of 2023, the umbrella organization of athletics Urheiluliitto prepared its own proposal on which track and field athletes should receive the largest possible grant, Vanninen was placed at the top of the ranking as a matter of course (table below). Before him, the association recommended a tax-free grant of 20,000 euros from the Ministry of Education and Culture only To Wilma Murro, To Oliver Helander, Silja Kosose and Aku Partase.
After Vanninen in the ranking of his own sports association, there were three 2022 European Championship medalists, whose last season was very slow: Top Raitanen, Kristina Hilly and Lassi Etelätalo.
The league’s carefully prepared ranking, however, experienced a complete upheaval when the Olympic Committee’s elite sports unit handled it (table below). The unit promoted all of the above-mentioned, unsuccessful EC medalists in the previous season ahead of Vanninen, with the result that cutter for 20,000 and 10,000 the 20-year-old from Tampere passed between the euro grants. Vannine was awarded the same grant of 10,000 euros as a year ago.
The ranking prepared by the top sports unit goes as it is to the payer, i.e. the ministry, which rarely makes even cosmetic changes at this stage. Raitanen, Mäkelä and Etelätalo received 20,000 euros.
Director of coaching and training of the Sports Association, Finland’s top athletics expert Jarkko Finni did not spare his opinions at this stage in the interview with Urheilu. Finni said that the support decision caused great surprise and considered Vanninen to definitely meet all the criteria for a large grant. In the elite sports unit, responsible for so-called power sports, such as 7-a-side, javelin throw and triple jump Tommy Pärmäkoski does not fully share Finn’s point of view.
– The criteria for a large grant include immediate medal potential at the World Cup and Olympic level, Pärmäkoski tells Urheilu.
Saga Vanninen himself did not want to comment on the matter.
Almost 40 places lower
Pärmäkoski emphasizes that he considers Vanni to be one of the most potential winners of Finnish individual elite sports in the time frame 2025-2028. He reminds that the experienced achievers nominated before Vanninen have already shown that they are capable of reaching the prestigious medal level, which has traditionally been considered a significant indicator of future success as well.
While Vanninen was ninth in the world ranking of his sport in 2023, Raitanen and Mäkelä were ranked almost 40 places lower, Etelätalo 13 places.
– Now it’s the Olympic year, and when the review period for athlete grants is two years, we didn’t want to trick the recipients of a large grant, even though last season was more difficult. There is a global top result from the second season below, says Pärmäkoski.
The criterion was removed
With the criteria still in use in 2023, Vanninen would probably have received a large grant now as a “young, very fast development stage” athlete. However, this criterion was removed for 2024.
In the registered criteria, the European championship level is not calculated, but only the World Cup and Olympic level are qualified. This has been considered even unreasonable in certain sports, such as sprinting or steeplechase, which is dully dominated by Raitanen’s Africans. Pärmäkoski admits this.
– This year we’ll at least go with these, but without anything else, it’s a matter worth deep consideration in the future.
In general, the biggest challenge for those who distribute grants and those who prepare the process is the balancing between future potential and past merits.
– Extremely difficult. In itself, it’s great that border crossings and this issue in general are of interest and talk about. It shows that we have potential athletes and that elite sports evoke great emotions, states Pärmäkoski.