Sakari Manninen had no room to play as a junior

Haukipudas got the first Olympic winner in its history on Sunday.

The star of the former municipality of Oulu, Sakari Manninenshone at the Beijing Olympics in the Lions shirt.

There are two medalists in the ex-municipality of Northern Ostrobothnia, while those who have achieved Olympic success also include cross-country skiers. Riitta-Liisa Roponen.

The middle brother of the Manninen family, Simofollowed Sunday ‘s final with his family in Oulu.

– I’m happy for my nephew and the whole team. The bell was ringing early in the morning, and we went to see the game, Simo Manninen says.

At the same time, the oldest brother also picked up the alarm clock Sami Mannisen at home.

– You meant to see a tear in your eye, Sami’s big brother admits.

Even the first messages have been exchanged.

– Let’s leave the calls even later, and let the boy enjoy the party now.

Socks on foot on outdoor ice

Orange and blue familiar colors for Mannis. The whole trio of brothers Sami, Simo and Sakari Manninen have represented Ahmoja in Haukipudas as young people.

Sami, 34, started playing first, Simo, two years younger, followed suit and soon Sakari also got on the outside ice.

– Sakke came when she started to stay up on the skates. At first, he ran in mere socks on the outside ice when the skating was not successful. That’s when it left. Soon the hall was already playing in Ahmo, Simo recalls.

Sakari Manninen wore skates for the first time at the age of three.

– The Christmas break was lived. Twice he ripped the skates off and was left in his socks. The second day was reportedly bad skates. On the third night he then learned to skate, and since then that tenacity has come.

– At the age of 5, he fell asleep in the locker room on a break. Of course, the coaches did not want to leave him behind bars, so the sleeping Sakke was carried in the equipment bag to the change bench, Dad Markku Manninen laughs.

Too small?

– It’s great that Sakari has succeeded and got to play his profession. It was every little boy’s dream, Simo Manninen glows.

Manninen celebrated his 30th birthday on the opening day of the Olympics. He kept the hat trick in his party game. There was also a selection for the tournament constellation. Now, in addition to Olympic gold, the prize cabinet includes World Cup gold and the Finnish Championship.

However, the realization of the dream was not a matter of course. The small-sized boy eventually grew to 172-centimeters, so he had to throw two harder jobs to stand out.

– Junior was tight to get to play even the best teams. Now he can make it to that level. Sakke has always been a tenacious fighter. He was a really fast skater when he was young, Sami recalls.

– It was always stuck due to its small size. At Pohjola camp, he remained the first substitute, even though he was already a leader in terms of his skills, Manninen’s father said.

After the parents separated, the boys stayed in Haukiputaa with Markku’s father. The numerous congratulations that came on Sunday have really sensitized the father.

Many of them have had the same theme: the little man made an effort for the world.

During the call, Markku Manninen likes to remember stories and doesn’t care, even though the piece rises throat more than once.

– It feels great when many people have praised me afterwards and said that I have worked hard to raise my sons. The two older sons have a company in which Sakke is also a shareholder. I can be a really proud father, Markku says.

Thanks to two “Latees”

According to the older brothers and father, the C-Juniors began to show signs of talent.

Manninen successfully crossed the Järvi junior trail, but the momentum had to be sought from Mestis when the place on the league team was under the rock.

– Thank you very much To Lauri Mikkola, who currently coaches the Fly League team. It is also worth mentioning Lauri Marjamäki, who made Sakari a real player in Fly. It was important that he was allowed to play his Mest in Hokk at the right time, and after that Marjamäki took him back to Kärpp, Markku Manninen praises.

The final breakthrough was experienced in Hämeenlinna. At HPK, responsibility came in and the efficiencies were over 70 points over two seasons. The games in Örebro and Joker only lifted Manninen shares.

Now he is playing in the third season in perhaps the best chain of the entire KHL in Salavat Yulev Ufa. Markus GranlundinManninen and Teemu Hartikainen The Ufa chain was also Finland’s number one weapon at the Olympics.

The nimble, skillful and intelligent central striker was finally the second best scorer in the entire Olympics (4 + 3 = 7).

– I probably have to reserve a party place, Sami Manninen predicts the return of the gold hero.

– Halosentien could be turned into a road for Sakari Manninen, Markku’s father thought, referring to the home road in Kello.

Video: Discovery +