Anne Kyllönen talks about her friendship with German cross-country skiing and biathlon star Denise Herrmann.
Denise Herrmann won 15 kilometers of Olympic gold in biathlon at the Chinese Olympics. ZUMAWIRE / MVPHOTOS
A German who won 15 kilometers of Olympic gold in biathlon in Beijing Denise Herrmann said the second best moment of the five-ring event came shortly after the medal ceremony. He met his dearest friend at the canteen of Zhangjiakou Olympic Village Anne Kyllösen.
– We had been waiting a long time to see you. I had communicated with her husband and the man urged that when you see Denise, he hugs her for the victory for me too, for you will see her before me. It was a really emotional moment when we hugged then, Kyllönen says.
In 2005, the women became friends at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Switzerland.
– There we started competing together, getting to know each other and having one.
In cross-country skiing, they rose to international limelight in sprint measurements.
– When we were cross-country skiing, we had very close distances. We always wanted to succeed together and hoped to get on the podium together. And when the medals reached the medals at the same time in the 2014 Olympics, it crowned the friendship.
Herrmann described Kyllö as a “wonderful man”.
– Denise is a really amazing person and an athlete. He has had a really good informative exchange with him about the sport, skis and training. He has helped a lot with training places.
Where does your friendship come from?
– We are probably quite similar and we have similar qualities. Quite a lot was allowed to compete against the woman.
Workout in a bunch
Anne Kyllönen on the move on Saturday in the message of the Ruka Finnish Cup. Jussi Saarinen
In the spring of 2016, Herrmann switched from skiing to biathlon.
– He joked that you should change too. But I don’t think I’d be a biathlete, Kyllönen laughs.
In recent years, women have been training at the same time in the summer in Central Europe and in the first snow in Muonio.
– It’s really great that a friend succeeds. He has overcome the difficulties of the two species.
Kyllönen has experienced a lot of challenges in recent years, so the support of a friend is valuable. The most recent grief struck the Falun World Cup a couple of weeks ago.
– I feel sick. It was some virus that went more into the musculature and messed up the metabolism.
The friendship of Anne Kyllönen (left) and Denise Herrmann (right) won the crown at the 2014 Sochi Olympics when, after a 4×5-kilometer post, they reached the podium at the same time. Sweden won, Finland was second and Germany third. AOP
In the message of the Asiago World Cup in December 2013, the Finn and the German were among the three in a double message. Finland won, Norway was second and Germany third. Pictured from left to right are Maiken Caspersen Falla, Ingvild Östberg, Kyllönen, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, Katrin Zeller and Herrmann. EPA / AOP