Tanja Poutiainen-Rinne reached the podium 48 times in the World Cup. Kalle Palander won 14 World Cup races.
The Finnish alpine skier has reached the podium a total of 81 times in the history of the Alpine Skiing World Cup. Tanja Poutiainen-Rinte has 48 ball positions, Kalle Palander has 30 and Sami Uotila three.
Iltalehti got the trio for a rare joint interview during the opening weekend of the Levi ski center.
Super talent
Tanja Poutiainen won silver in the giant slalom at the Torino Olympics in 2006. PDO
– Tanja was an absolutely brilliant athlete. If I remember correctly, he has 48 podium places in the World Cup – also the last podium place achieved by a Finn.
– Tanja was a very reliable calculator and a super talent when she was young. The ball also stayed well on his feet, Uotila refers to Poutiainen-Rinte’s football hobby.
– Everything worked, and Tanja did things right. He also knew how to smile at his own success, Uotila describes the Rovaniemi resident.
Victory in Kitzbühel
Before, ships were made of wood and men were made of iron – and alpine skiers used to ski with a beanie on. Kalle Palander took the first World Cup race victory of his career in 2003 at the Kitzbühel classic race in Austria. PDO
In addition to the World Cup success, the trio has many other achievements. Palander is, among other things, world champion (1999), and Poutiainen-Rinne is an Olympic silver medalist (2006) and the overall winner of the World Cup.
– Kalle was a pretty great competitor. His first podium finish in the World Cup was a long time coming.
– When it finally came, it came in Kitzbühel – and immediately victory. It’s stuck in my mind. It still gives me chills, Poutiainen-Rinne admits, and with her words makes the tough Tornioan a little more sensitive.
Palander won the Kitzbühel slalom competition in 2003 and 2004.
The World Cup weekend in Kitzbühel is considered the biggest in the sport. Two hundred thousand spectators gather in the trendy Austrian alpine village every January. There is a large group of world-class celebrities, from royalty to actors and stars of the music world.
“Superiorly skilled”
Uotila is the only one of the trio who grew up in southern Finland, in Helsinki’s Lauttasaari. Uotila was the first Finnish male alpinist to reach the podium in a World Cup competition.
It happened in the Italian Alta Badia giant slalom on December 16, 2001. There he finished third.
– Sami was the leader of our team when Finnish alpine skiing started to take off in earnest. Sure, we had pioneers Mika Marila and Janne Leskinenbut Sami was the one who set out to take men’s alpine skiing forward in a big way, says Palander.
Known as a great slalom athlete, Uotila suffered from numerous injuries in his career. He toured the World Cup between 1997 and 2004.
– Sami was an incredible competitor and by far the most skilled calculator in Finnish history. If I had had any elements of skill from Sam, I would have won much more, says Palander, the slalom world champion.
Palander, 45, currently lives in Spain. Poutiainen-Rinteen, 42, is still based in Rovaniemi. 45-year-old Uotila lives in Vihti.
Best of all, everyone is still involved in the sport.