The association of sports journalists was shocked.
In the vote for the athlete of the year, real surprise votes were again seen. The selections are made by the members of the Sports Journalist Association.
Among others, trotting instructor Santtu Raitala and soccer player Oliver Antman received one vote for Athlete of the Year.
Skater Heili to Sirviö there was also one winning vote, and two for NHL player Mikko Rantanen.
The voting was incredibly even this year. The entire top four were within about 200 points.
Harri Heliövaara won after collecting 1,356 points and 52 first places. Lauri Markkanen came second with 1,312 points and 39 first place. Aleksander Barkov finished third (1,244, 37).
Surprisingly low on the results list were marathon World Cup winner Alisa Vainio (7th) and wrestling World Cup bronze medalist Elias Kuosmanen (12th).
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There were also some surprise names on the list. sports journalists’ union