Salvation for Finland’s top skiers – massive support from the Olympic Committee

The elite sports unit of the Finnish Olympic Committee plays a significant role as a financial supporter in Finnish elite skiing in the 2023–24 season.

Skiing is the top sport of the elite sports unit’s Winter Olympic sport with an enhancement support of 480,000 euros.

Five athlete-coach pairs have been awarded 5,000–20,000 euros during the summer 2023 basic training season. It’s not about a grant or a reward, but about compensation for the training costs of the training process of top athletes.

– One of the legalities of elite sports is that they deserve support with their achievements. As a result, they don’t have to compromise on training, says the sports group manager of the Olympic Committee’s elite sports unit Toni Roponen.

They acknowledged the training process support Iivo Niskanen and coach Olli Ohtonen, Kerttu Niskanen and Juho Mikkonen, Krista Pärmäkoski and Matti Haavisto, Perttu Hyvärinen and Mikko Virtanen mixed Joni Mäki and Juho Halonen.

Three-time Olympic champion Iivo Niskanen’s support is the biggest.

– Iivo has got the camp program it wanted, when it has been possible to secure longer camps in Central Europe. He has had a coach and ski guardians with him, Roponen says.

Money for coaches

Of the 480,000 euro enhancement support of the elite sports unit, 250,000–300,000 euro will be indirectly allocated to the use of 17 national team skiers.

They do not receive separate training support like the athlete-coach pairs mentioned above, but the elite sports unit, for example, participated in the costs of the Ski Federation’s training camps for the basic training season 2023.

The enhancement support pays part of the responsibility coach of the women’s cross country team Ville Maunuskelan and the coach of the sprint team Ville Oksanen from salary.

The elite sports unit plays an essential role in the everyday life of Iivo Niskanen’s coach Olli Ohtonen. Ohtonen leads research and development activities at the Olympic training center Vuokatti-Ruka. Half of the man’s salary comes from the Olympic Committee.

– With that, he will be able to invest in Iivo Niskanen’s training process better, when he can, for example, participate in training camps. We get information from Olli about how the world’s best traditional skier trains.

Ohtonen’s salary is not earmarked for cross-country enhancement support, but is part of the elite sports unit’s other support.

– Ohtonen’s role is significant when thinking about the preparation of all snow sports for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Essential help

The ski association’s financial challenges are considerable, so the support of the elite sports unit during the basic training season of summer 2023 could be described as an enabler of operations.

– The top players have not had to compromise on training. In general, it can be said that quite a few Finnish athletes have suffered. Maybe they have had problems that are not quite at the absolute top, Roponen formulates.

When the corners are straightened out, it can be said that the skiers in Finland’s first and second chain have operated without financial worries.

There have been challenges for third and fourth chain people. The national team’s camp program shrank considerably, and the athletes do not have the financial support provided by the Olympic Committee, society or personal sponsors.

– It is very important when the Ski Federation has wanted to ensure that no compromises are made during the competition season. The best athletes are able to compete in the usual way, Roponen points out.

The budget for the cross country team’s competition season 2023–24 is approximately 700,000–800,000 euros.

– It means that all our top athletes are supported significantly during the competition season so that success is possible.

2.24 million

Roponen reminds that the representatives of the elite sports unit of the Skiing Association and the Olympic Committee sit on the same side of the table.

– Our role is to ensure that the operation is in accordance with the international top level. We challenge, spar, analyze and support. Together, we strive to find the best possible means to operate at an international level of requirements.

In June, the elite sports unit distributed a total of 2.24 million euros in enhancement support to winter sports. Like cross-country skiing, ice hockey received 480,000 euros.

Among the other sports, for example, combined received 200,000, biathlon 150,000 and ski jumping 110,000. In total, support was distributed to eleven different sports.

– Cross-country skiing is rightfully a top sport. There are more than ten athletes with rankings in the top ten in the World Cup. At the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, Finland won a total of six skiing medals.

Money from the state

In addition to the grants from the Olympic Committee, 17 Finnish skiers will receive an athlete grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2023.

At the end of June, the state announced a total of 87 winter sports athletes who received scholarships. A total of 812,000 euros was distributed in tax-free money.

The size of the grant is 20,000, 10,000 or 6,000 euros.

The grant is not awarded to athletes whose taxable income or clearly demonstrable competition fees in the latest confirmed taxation (2021) exceed 80,000 euros.