“Hard to understand”
Five-time tour winner rails against the association because of his son
November 17, 2025 – 2:41 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
He has won Olympic silver twice and is one of the best ski jumpers of all time. Janne Ahonen’s son will not follow in his footsteps.
He is the record winner of the Four Hills Tournament: Janne Ahonen. The Finn has won the prestigious ski jumping competition five times. He also has two Olympic silver medals in his closet. His son Mico wanted to follow in the 48-year-old’s footsteps. But nothing came of it, which is why the ex-ski jumping star made serious allegations against the Finnish association.
“Mico has really stopped jumping,” Ahonen told the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. This had already been indicated in the summer. But why? Ahonen took aim at the Finnish association and criticized: “Mico wanted to continue his career, but his motivation faded when he was rudely excluded from both national team groups.”
Mico Ahonen was not nominated for either the A team or the B team after his knee injury. Janne Ahonen continued: “Mico jumped overall better in the spring than some athletes who were later appointed to the B team. And yet he wasn’t even nominated for the B team. This decision is difficult to understand.”
Then the five-time gold medalist said: “It seems as if the sins of fathers are being avenged on their sons.” Igor Medved, head coach of the Finnish team, told the newspaper about Ahonen’s statements: “The team selection was based mainly on the points collected in the international FIS competitions of the previous season. The number of athletes in the teams was now limited by the resources allocated for the coming season.”
He also emphasized: “An athlete with a similar injury from the same period was included in the team based on his performance. The doors remain open to all athletes who meet the required criteria.”