Mico Ahonen revealed to Ilta-Sanom that the idea of ending his ski jumping career had been simmering for longer.
Photographed by Mico Ahonen in spring 2023. Jussi Saarinen
Ex-ski jumper Mico Ahonen23, decided to end his competitive career in August when he found out that he didn’t fit into the Finnish B national team.
However, the decision was not made solely because of this, but it was an idea that had been simmering for a longer time, Ahonen says Ilta-Sanom.
– Last spring, when I started training again, I somehow started to feel that the motivation is not what it used to be. I had been thinking about it for a long time, and then when I heard about being eliminated from the national team, I thought this was it, Ahonen says.
The athlete admits to IS that jumping still fascinated him, but the physical training did not excite him in the same way as it would be required at the world’s top level. The decision to quit now feels right, both athletically and financially.
Losing national team status would also have made it difficult to get sponsors.
Hill jumping legend Janne Ahonen commented earlier Ilta-Sanomthat the boy would have earned a place in the B national team.
Mico tells IS that he agrees with his father.
– I think I would have belonged. I understand that they are selected there based on the points of the previous season, but when I returned to the hill after the injury, I think I definitely jumped at the level required for the B national team place. So that way, the fall was quite a shock.