Last year, the most popular athlete among Finns was basketball player Lauri Markkanen.
Pole vaulter Wilma Murto has become Finns’ favorite athlete. The research was conducted by sponsoring and communication research company Sponsor Insight. The survey in question has now been done 19 times.
Last year, 25-year-old Murto won EC indoor gold and outdoor track WC bronze. Murto brought Finland’s first World Athletics medal in eight years from Budapest. The previous one was the javelin thrower who took bronze in Beijing 2015 Tero Pitkämäki.
Last year, Murto was seventh on the corresponding list. At that time, he came to the attention of the general public with his surprising European championship on outdoor tracks.
Second on the list is the two-time rally car world champion Kalle Rovanperä and third, a cross-country skier Iivo Niskanen.
The basketball star who was named the most popular athlete on the list last year Lauri Markkanen fell three places to fourth. Perhaps the most surprising name on the list is the fifth-ranked hockey player Patrick Lainewhose sports displays have been quite thin in the past year.
Last time the most popular woman on the list was a biathlete Kaisa Mäkäräinen in 2019.
Ice hockey is the most popular
Based on the report in question, ice hockey is still Finns’ favorite sport. Next in order are athletics, skiing, and football.
Ice hockey is the most popular sport among both men and women. The second and third most interesting sports for men are athletics and football, while for women, athletics and skiing.