Johanna Matintalo will miss the Ruka World Cup.
Finnish national team skier Johanna Matintalo will not compete in Ruka this weekend, says the Finnish Ski Federation.
According to the skiing association, Matintalo will be sidelined due to illness.
Matintalo was named to the Finnish team for the sprint and Saturday’s traditional skiing style 10 km time trial.
Matintalo won the sprint race of the Finnish Cup held in Ruka on Saturday last week.
A day later, he fell on Ruka’s Impilinna descent and injured his shoulder in a crash. However, it would not have prevented skiing in World Cup competitions.
– The condition of the shoulder is quite good. I was more startled, what was startling, Matintalo said on Thursday in Kuusamo at the press conference of the Finnish Ski Association.
– I calmed down the situation and gave the hand time to recover, and the sensations started to disappear. I didn’t even consider going to the pictures. My mind was more scared than my body.
The Ruka World Cup starts on Friday with the sprint races.
Eero Hirvonen competes
The Finnish Ski Federation also announced on Friday that combined athlete Eero Hirvonen will participate in today’s combined competition.
Hirvonen left Ruka on Wednesday due to family reasons. His participation was thus uncertain. However, the Ski Federation said on Thursday that Hirvonen had traveled back to Ruka.
Johanna Matintalo fell ill. PASI LEISMA