Marjut Rolig currently lives in Hämeenlinna.
Cross-country skiing Olympic champion Marjut Rolig is still an active exerciser.
Rolig, 57, travels to work by bicycle in summer and winter.
– In addition to that, in my free time I ski, run and play volleyball.
Rolig estimates that he moves 10 hours a week.
– If there is more free time, then it can be 10–15 hours a week.
Rolig currently lives in Hämeenlinna and works as an operating theater nurse. Her two children are adults, the older one is 28 years old and the younger one is 26.
– They will always be our children.
Enlivenment
According to his own words, Rolig is a tough bench athlete and actively follows cross-country skiing and biathlon.
He knows where Finnish skiing is going.
– I try to always be by the screen when skiing. It doesn’t always work out. It depends a little on what time of day the races are – whether I’m at work or not.
Rolig says that he is a supportive bench athlete.
– I live terribly. I’ve heard of other types that aren’t as encouraging when you don’t succeed. It’s always great when success comes. It’s a bonus to follow and when your own athletes do well.
No favorites
Marjut Rolig says the situation in Finnish cross-country skiing is good. Matti Matikainen
As a former top skier, Rolig is followed by Finnish skiers such as Kerttu Niskanen and Krista Pärmäkoski.
– I can’t say who is the favorite among the current skiers. All Finns are my favorites. In the old days, there were favorites.
According to Rolig, the situation in Finnish cross-country skiing is good.
– There are really good young people emerging from there and have already emerged. Fortunately, we still have Niskaset and Krista with us, who have managed.
On the other hand, there have been winds of change in Finnish biathlon in recent years.
Kaisa Mäkäräinen ended her international racing career in March 2020. Mari Eder ended his career last spring.
According to Rolig, biathlon’s situation is similar to cross-country skiing.
– Kaisa left a really big gap, and now Mari quit too. There is no such guiding star at the moment, but on the other hand, the level is a bit wider in the bow, which is a good thing. There will be mutual competition that develops.
Rolig is particularly pleased with the rise of Hämeenlinna residents.
– There are three young women from Hämeenlinna in the national team: one is in the A national team and two in the B national team. We’ve had some good biathlon action there.
A ski story
Marjut Rolig arrived on the red carpet with her husband Petri Rolig. Matti Matikainen
In 1992, in Albertville, Rolig won the Olympic gold in the 5 km distance. He defeated Russian Lyubov Yegorova, who came in second, by 0.9 seconds.
Before the competition, a skiing episode was shown.
Stable manager of the Peltonen ski factory Asko Lahdelma delivered loose tip skis to Rolig by hand from Finland in a week.
Traditional starts when we raced in damp weather.
– Esko (Fitness) said that Marjut should get skis with a flexible tip, a short pressure area and a half-high butter cup. At that time, it was possible to make one quite quickly, as honeycomb skis were not made into a mold like today, Lahdelma recalled to Iltalehte in 2017.
The new skis arrived in Albertville and worked.
Rolig laughs when he hears the question about it.
– I don’t really remember the whole thing. I don’t remember if they were even in any way fresh skis that I skied and managed. However, they work well.