In Kukkonen’s opinion, e-sports and powerlifting are not sports.
A legend in sports journalism Anssi Kukkonen89, has seen quite a variety of genres in his career, but wonders about today’s preferences for certain genres.
When Kukkonen developed the Urheiluruutu program for Yle, the content of the broadcasts was considerably more traditional than today.
– Today’s sports offer is so diverse that I myself question whether it’s all even sports anymore, Kukkonen says.
– For example, e-sports has nothing to do with sports. Well, there is still quite a bit of that in the Sports screen for the time being.
The meaning of the word sport is becoming blurred, Anssi Kukkonen thinks. Jussi Eskola
In addition to computer gamers, Kukkonen also surprises power sports enthusiasts.
– Let’s take powerlifting for example. What’s the point? Some deadlifts and leg squats. Of course I’m jealous when I’m so weak myself, but there’s no point in those sports.
But doesn’t powerlifting also require hard training?
– Of course it takes, but it’s not sport. Rather, it’s beating yourself up, Kukkonen replies.
In particular, the use of doping in strength sports bothers Kukko. It eats away at the luster of performance.
Play it used to be in sports.
– I myself am in a fortunate position in that sense, that at the time when I was reporting, perhaps not much was known about doping. There was no need to interfere with those things any more, the legend concludes.