Finnish national team skier: Career on hold

Katri Lylynperä was Fifth on Saturday at the Finnish Cup in Tampere. Jussi Saarinen

Cross-country skiing A national team skier Katri Lylynperän32, professional career is on hiatus after this season.

– I’m considering quitting in the spring. But sports will not leave my life. There is hardly a situation where I wouldn’t go to competitions, commented the Finnish sprint skiing champion.

Lylynperä, who competed four times in the World Championships and four years ago in the Olympics, did not make it to the Finnish Olympic team in Milan-Cortina.

– After the World Cup in Trondheim in December, I knew I wouldn’t make it to the Olympics. It wasn’t said at the time, but with this experience I knew it.

The Vuokatti Ski Team Kainuu women’s season 2025–26 has been challenging. From the three mc sprints, there are two qualifiers from the top 30 heats and the 19th place left by Ruka.

– The state of health has been normal all along. No explanatory factor can be found there. It has also been tried to think about whether there is excess fitness, but it has not appeared either. But there is something wrong here.

On Saturday, the woman was fifth in the 15 km traditional style intermediate start race of the Finnish Cup in Tampere. Be the winner of the event Hilla in Niemelä accumulated 33.5 seconds.

– A better feeling than it has been earlier in the season. A really challenging season so far.

In the five-ring races starting next week, the Finnish team will ski in the traditional sprint Jasmi Joensuu, Johanna Matintalo, Jasmin Kähärä and Amanda Saari.

– Finland has two finalists in extremely tough condition. Jasmi and Johanna are a pleasure to watch. Jasmin was fourth last season in Val di Fiemme and Amanda has skied to the semi-finals in her career, so you can ski good positions from them too. Of course, better skis are required from them, which they have shown so far this season.