Jan 2014 Sports, So Far So Good
by Harry SiitonenWith the January FAR editorial deadline approaching, and the world winter sports season getting well underway, it looked like formerly prominent Finnish skiing athletes were getting nowhere on the international scene. Until the weekend of Jan.78 when former world great ski jumper Janne Ahonen, returning from retirement, earned his first top ten placement of the season, a ninth place at Lillehammer, Norway. Both he and his supporters were disappointed as he looked in shape to get a medal on his second try. His go signal was green, but the jump official, incidentally a Finn, made Ahonen stay in the ready position for the longest time before releasing him to start. Shoban Freund of Germany was the winner.
Sonja Mörsky, 22, took a bronze in the middle distance ski orienteering event at Yläs, Finland on Jan 7 with Russia's Tatiana Rvatshiva the winner. Next day, in the ski orienteering sprint, Mörsky
was sixth, with Finland's Marjut Turunen seventh, Rvayshiva again the champ. Then back to Lillehammer on Dec.,8, the Finnish women's relay team was second in the World Cup 4x5K crosscountry race. Norway was the winner during the prevailing snowfall which made for soft ground conditions. The Finnish team consisted of AinoKaisa Saarinen, Anne Kyllönen , Kerttu Niskanen, and Krista Lahteenmäki. Kyllönen testified to the toughness of Therese Johaug in leading Noway to victory. USA women bronzed.
Boxing also highlighted that weekend at Espoo where promising Finnish lightweight hopefuls Edis Tatli, 26, and Eva Wahlström both won their bouts by unanimous decision over tough
opponents. Tatli, a Kosovan by birth, but now living and fighting in Finland, outpointed former twotime superfeatherweight world champion Mizonke Fana, 40, of South Africa, in a 12round
bout. The judges ruled for Tatli by votes of 117111, 118110, 118110. Some critics thought Fan was too far over the hill in facing his much younger, quicker opponent. There's interest in promoting the undefeated Tatli's career in North America against stronger competition.
Wahlström, the European superfeatherwight champion, came back from a grave illness that had sidelioned her since, March, 2012. She also had to recover from serious hand injuries. But her
hands were just fine as she defeated world kickboxing champion Anna Sikora of Poland in a six rounder by a 30 unanimous decision. It was a tough bout after a long layoff, with Wahlström
confessing that Sikora "was not an easy opponent." She is now planning to defend her European
title sometime this coming spring.
In early season skiing, Anne Kyllönen had crosscountry wins on successive days at the Suomi Cup tornament at Rovaniemi, Nov.2324. She was the classic xc sprint championon the first day, and next day in the classic 5k, 4.9 seconds ahead of second place AinoKaisa Saarinen. Kerttu
Niskanen was third, 26.7 seconds behind. In the men's 10K, Sami Jauhojärvi won by 30 seconds over Tero Similä.
2006 European steeplechase champion Jukka Keskisalo, 32, says he plans to stay competitive for another season or more. In a jovial mood, Jukka works at a job where he says he "enjoys his achievements for all of ten minutes, but in athletics the good feeling lasts until evening. This (athletics) isn't the world's unhealthiest addiction," he adds. Jukka's main concern is to stay injury free.
Tuula Tenhonen was voted Finnish sailor of the year on the strengthof her World Championship silver medal placing in the radial class in October. Henri Manninen of Jyväskylä ran ninth in the Firenze (Italy) Marathon on Nov.24 with a personal best of 2:19:09, also the fastest Finnish men's time for 2013. Ukraine's Oleksandr Sitkovski was the winner in 2:09:14. Elina Nurmenpää, 30, golfed a personal best eighth place on the European Women's Circuit Tour stop at New Delhi, India with a one under par 215 . In the final round she hit our birdies, marred by one double bogey. Winner was Thailand's Thidapa Shivonna, with seven strokes fewer than Tenhonen.
