January Sports So Far

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Before launching into a review of World Cup or Tour de Ski winter sports, We'll open with a World Championship tourney that excited Finns more than any other athletic endeavor during January. That's when the Finnishn Pikku Leijonat (Little LIons) Junior Men's hockey team won their first world championship since 1998 by upsetting an over­confident favorite Sweden  at Malmo on Jan 5 , in overtime, 3­2. The OT shot was by Rasmus Ristolainen to give it to the  Finnish lads. The new champions had defeated Canada in the semi­finals, who in turn lost to Russia for the bronze. The juniors consist of 18 and 19 year­olds. Finnish fans turned out in the thousands cheering their
young men as they deplaned at Vantaa.  

Next we'll go to  mid­ December to celebrate the World Cup win of Janne Korpi in the snowboarding half­ pipe at Kuusamo  Markus Malin bronzed and Antti Autti was fourth. Enni Rukajärvi was second in the snowboarding slopestyle at Breckenridge, USA, with Jamie Anderson, USA, the winner. We move to January for another snowboarding slopestyle at the Nanshan Open in China, when Finnish women Merika Enne and Kristina Nisula came in first and second. Thus, Enne won her first major race so far. Nisula was last year's winner.

Swedish women defeated Finland for the fourth straight time in the Salibandy (indoor floor ball) World Championships, 5­1,  at at Ostrava, Czech Republic. Finland took its second straight silver. The bronze went to Switzerland over the  Czech women , 4­3. Juulia Turkkila  won her first national figure skating championshp in Finland. Matthius Versius claimed the men's title.

Former Olympic Champion Biathlete Kaisa Mäkäräinen was second in a World Cup competition at Annecy,France, with Switzerland's Selina Bakarin the winner in this ski and shoot event. On Jan. 12, Kaisa was third at a World Cup Pursuit at Ruhspording. Czech Gabriela Soukalova  took gold. Mäkäräinen had three shooting penalties, two from a lying position, and one on her last stand­up shot for the third.

Riitta­Liisa Roponen successfully.