Artturi Verho’s life has involved a very rare skin disease since birth. The curtain has not given up, as the cabinet has World Cup and European Championship bronze.
Satisfied is sitting in the Lahti gym Artturi Verho.26.
At the same time, the medal is Finland’s first in that sport.
– Now it is good to let the body and mind rest and recover, because the European Championship project was very intensive and demanding.
– I am really pleased with the loss, because the medal was my absolute goal. If it hadn’t come, it would have been a big disappointment, as I knew my level was enough for medals, Verho says.
Arttur’s path to the present has not been easy, as he has suffered from epidermolysis bullosa simplex skin disease since birth. This is a very rare disease that affects a few hundred people in Finland.
– My parents have told me that I was diagnosed at the age of six months, because before that there was no certainty about what it was all about. From the beginning, the disease caused large and painful blisters on my soles of the feet. Some blisters also appeared on the palms.
– There is no certainty about the disease, it has not been diagnosed in anyone in my family or family. Apparently I have had some kind of genetic defect that has caused the disease.
The rise of Artturi to his feet went at his own pace due to the illness, as the painful blisters barely allowed him to get on his feet.
– I only learned to walk when I was just over four years old, because walking was impossible most of the time.
With a strong attitude
He started school normally at the age of seven in a wheelchair. In primary school, there were few problems with schoolmates.
– I quickly got friends, and I was one of the others. I didn’t have bigger problems in elementary school.
However, the problems started when he moved to junior high school in Koski Tl. Although Verho had a strong circle of friends, he occasionally encountered disgusting use.
– I was the only student in a wheelchair, which caused a few students to behave mischievously and ridiculously. However, it didn’t bother me much, as I had several friends and my own nature is such that the shouting doesn’t take a moment.
Once, however, Arttur’s measure was met. At that time, a friend who had already attended secondary school came to the rescue.
– A bullying-prone student came to break me during the break. When his speech was addressed to other members of my family, it made my measure come true.
– After the school day, I sent a message to this older friend telling me what had happened. He next asked when we have breaks.
The next day, a friend of Arttur showed up for school break.
– That’s where the show started when my friend taught the bully. The bullying ended at that moment. Still, I do not in any way accept the use of violence, nor do I accept bullying, in this case it just happened in the end.
On his knees from the nests
Artturi Verho on stage in 2019. Riku Korkki
Artturi gives big thanks to his teachers who treated him as a student among others. Physical education teachers in particular receive recognition.
– I was not left out in the exercise classes, but the teachers arranged a replacement for me. For example, when others went orienteering, I got to go throw basketball.
He often attended quite normal teaching. Baseball in particular has come to mind.
– Because I couldn’t stand on my feet, I hit the ball on my knees. After that, I set out to move on. I had my own rule in this regard, I only had to make it halfway between the nests.
– This kind of arrangement suited my classmates very well. It was great to be playing one among the others.
Artturi says he still works out in the gym today.
– My knees have strengthened over time. So I usually move from one device to another in the gym, as it is a much more convenient way than always getting in a wheelchair at times.
Verho started lifting weights at the age of eleven at home. At the age of less than thirteen, he went to the gym with his friends for the first time.
– We had watched several times behind the gym windows that it would be great to go there. So then we decided to get hall cards, and we started visiting there regularly.
– At that time, a great example was a neighbor’s man visiting the gym. Even though I was in the gym weighing in at just over fifty pounds, I often looked at his arms thinking it would be great to look like that.
Bench press takes
Artturi Verho says that parental encouragement has played an important role in his sports career. Mika Ankkuri / Kuvakartano
The gym hobby, especially bench press, quickly took over Arttur.
– I noticed that I was developing much faster in relation to my own body weight. I lifted a hundred pounds when I was under fifteen and weighed 54 pounds, which was quite a hard thing.
He also played wheelchair basketball during his junior high school, which brought versatility to the workout.
– I went to the gym three times a week and played basketball once a week.
In basketball, he met a prominent person, Rauno Saunavaarawho became the curtain coach for gym training.
– Rauno’s influence has been great, he saw my potential in bench press. He has made me an athlete like me, Rauno is still the father of the sport for me.
Artturi participated in the first bench press competitions at the age of fifteen. Pajulahti Games took second place in the pocket. The atmosphere at the Games was also impressive.
– Competitors then played and continue to play a major role, as together we create an encouraging atmosphere where it is good for everyone to try their best.
The training of the curtain continued, and he rose to the national team. However, things did not go well at the 2013 European Championships in Russia.
– The Russians did not recognize my skin condition, so I was not accepted to compete. I was close to ending my career at the time, but fortunately Rauno changed my mind.
Medal and new species
In 2018, Artturi achieved the most handsome bench press success of his career, grabbing the bronze medal of under-23s at the World Championships in Finland in the under-59 kg series.
– The medal was a great achievement, but my result was clearly behind my best lifts, which left me in the cavity.
He graduated at the same time with the World Cup as a sports advisor and personal trainer.
– It was a tough spring as a whole, but everything was taken care of.
Bodybuilding actually came into the curtains in the same year.
– I went about it largely through incitement, because many thought I could succeed in the sport. If I hadn’t received the encouragement, I probably wouldn’t have started bodybuilding. I have been in charge of my wheelchair bodybuilding coaching ever since Jiipee Pulkkinen.
Looking to the future, Verho sums up his next goal concisely.
– The look is at next year’s European Championships, where the bronze place is now to be improved.
As for his illness, he does not want to worry but to live as normal a life as possible.
– Some days I can walk a few hundred meters. It is very good because the muscles of the legs get some activity.
– Of course, there are many days when walking is completely impossible, then I move completely in a wheelchair. However, I do not grieve this because illness is a part of me.
The curtain also sends greetings to the children’s parents while remembering their own parents.
– My parents encouraged me to go and try different things, even though I could barely walk. Through my experience, I encourage children to try a variety of things if they just have a desire. Before you test a new one, you can’t know if it’s right for you.