Marko Laaksonen, who coached the Finnish and Swedish national biathlon teams, works as a professor at the University of Östersund.
When an athlete has an exceptionally clear eye for the game, they tend to call him the professor of rinks, grass fields or, for example, tracks.
Finn Marko Laaksonen, 48, no additional names are needed. He is a real professor. The Dutch-born man started in Sweden last year as a professor of exercise science at the University of Östersund’s Department of Health Sciences.
– The title is important here. When sitting in meetings with different views, the professor’s word carries weight, Laaksonen states.
– I think it’s absurd. The job doesn’t have to be about titles, he adds.
Laaksonen has a master’s degree in physical education from the University of Jyväskylä and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Turku.
– When I moved from Jyväskylä to Turku to do my dissertation, I had no idea that I would do research work. I have drifted into a certain kind of career path, Laaksonen says.
In the spring of 2023, an opportunity to become a professor opened up in Östersund. The Finn put the papers in.
– When I became a docent here in Östersund, I thought it was completely sufficient. Then the old competitive spirit woke up, because there is a certain kind of competition at university as well. You can’t get higher than this.
By accident
In the years 2011–14, Marko Laaksonen was the national team coach for biathlon in Sweden. Picture from the 2012 World Championships in Ruhpolding. Pasi Liesimaa
Born in 1975, Laaksonen has traveled an interesting journey from Päijät-Hämee to this moment.
He was a national level biathlon skier until he hung up his skis at around 25 years old.
In the years 2002–05, he worked Toni Roposen as the second coach in the Finnish national biathlon team. In one season, the World Cup caravan stayed in Östersund for no less than three competition weeks, when the reliable Swedish city replaced two race hosts suffering from a lack of snow. At that time, Laaksonen was impressed by the idyllic Swedish city and its top sports environment.
– There was time to get to know the place and the people, he describes.
Östersund is located in the province of Jämtland in central Sweden, approximately at the height of Vaasa. It is the mecca of Swedish biathlon thanks to the training conditions, the testing station and the university’s research work.
Laaksonen completed his doctorate in Finland in the spring and winter of 2005, applied for a master’s degree in Östersund and started in May 2005.
At that time, the man’s language skills were high school Swedish.
– I stayed involved in the meetings, but producing the language was challenging. I thought about giving my first lectures in English, but I didn’t give up and took them in Swedish.
Swedes are on average more open and talkative people than Finns, so Laaksonen sneaked into the social circles of the sports world.
Kaisa show
Marko Laaksonen hugged Kaisa Mäkäräi at the World Championships in Kontiolahti in 2015, when the athlete won bronze in the 15 km normal distance. Jenni Gästgivar
In 2011–14, the man was the coach of the Swedish biathlon team.
– I got tired of the academy, numb to the slow rhythm and gray everyday life. I burned myself out shortly before the national team work.
At the beginning of the 2010s, Swedish biathlon went through a transitional phase, when many stars quit, and the currently world-leading öbergs, samuelssons and ponsylomats were not yet involved.
Laaksonen became known to the domestic sports audience as Finland’s head coach in 2014–16. The national team rotated Kaisa Mäkäräinen around.
– Kaisa was a star. With his success, he largely made the whole operation possible.
The head coach’s job was thankless. Laaksonen characterizes that he was more of a tour leader than a coach.
– It was difficult. The culture was very different from Sweden. The athletes lived all over Finland, and there was no concentration. Personal trainers had a strong influence in the background.
The trust leaders of the Biathlon Union were cold-headed at that time as well.
– At times I felt that I was under the government’s magnifying glass. I was responsible for everything, but I couldn’t decide anything.
Laaksonen, who lived in Östersund during Suomi-pesti, left the option periods of his 2+2-year deal unused for reasons related to both his job description and family matters.
The Finn has 11- and 8-year-old sons from his previous relationship, whose home language is Swedish. The children are with their father every other week.
Measure full
Marko Laaksonen, who left Hollola for the world, has lived in Östersund since 2005. Jenni Gästgivar
After the national team, Laaksonen did a couple of years of remote coaching for Finnish athletes.
– The training will no longer be ignited in any way.
He likes to watch his bread, especially during the ongoing World Championships in Nove Mesto.
– International biathlon is going well, although the superiority of the Norwegian men is worrying. There have been bright spots in Finland for a long time, when Tero Seppälä was good in the previous couple of seasons and Otto Invenius has been near the top this season.
Almost 20 years of life in Sweden have shaped the man.
– The Swedish way of thinking and operating models have caught on in the working world. Things have to be considered from all sides before a decision can be made, if at all, he laughs.
Laaksonen has recently visited his native country regularly, as he is dating a Finnish woman.
– My affairs are very good in Östersund, although I miss Finland. In the coming years, I plan to stay here because of my children and my work.