The ex-national team athlete had enough and moved to the mountains – We even get stopped on the street

Susanna Saapunki31, is stopped on the mountain streets of Italy.

In his new home country, he is a public figure. In Finland, Saapunki is remembered as a former national team skier, but the Italians are interested in his career as a professional mountain runner.

– It is easier to come to Finland on vacation than to be in Italy as an athlete. It seems that, especially in small villages, you have to walk around the corners before the race, because people want to come and chat. In Italy, sport as a profession is valued much more than in Finland, Saapunki says.

Seventh in the world ranking, Saapung’s new sport is raw. In the toughest World Cup competitions, you climb a thousand meters in 3.5–4 kilometers.

– It’s really terrible. It feels awfully bad. Every muscle and breath burns.

– It’s like running up a bumpy slope with Ruka. The steepness is then quite close, Saapunki refers to a slope with a steepness of 29 degrees.

According to Kuusamolainen, mountain running requires more endurance qualities than cross-country skiing. In downhill skiing, you can have small moments of rest, but in mountain running you can burn for up to 45–90 minutes straight.

The ability to absorb oxygen must be top class. The ex-skier has it all right, because his relative oxygen uptake reading was over 80 milliliters per kilogram per minute during his previous career.

Saapunki names the 10-kilometer uphill race and the 15-kilometer normal distance as his strengths.

– Ylämäki is still the best competition for me.

Olympic goal

Saapung also has another new sport: alpine skiing. It is also known as ski mountaineering and skimo.

Mountain skiing is on the program of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026. The Kuusamo native was watching the five-ring races until the information about the competition formats shook the sports circles.

At the Olympics, only the mountain skiing sprint and the mixed doubles relay are contested, not the uphill race or the normal distance.

– I can’t promise the Olympics as the main goal. I’m not interested in sprinting. It’s not real skimo, Saapunki says.

– Skiing involves going up and down the mountain. In the sprint, there are certain sectors on the track where you put your skis in your backpack and run. Let’s dye with the grip hair of the skis. It’s special.

The second reform is also annoying. 18 women and men qualify for the Olympics, but only one representative per country.

– Two thirds of the world’s best are thus missing from the Olympics. In the final, there can be an athlete who does not advance from the qualifiers in the World Cup. It’s not right.

Saapunki participated in the first mountain skiing competitions of his career last winter. He was seventh at the World Championships.

Moving to Italy

In Finland, Saapunki is primarily known as a skier. The Kuusamo native represented his home country at the World Cup in Lahti and was at best 20th in the personal journey of the World Cup.

Career ended in the 2020–2021 season. Diagnosed as a child, asthma caused lung problems, especially in cold weather and sprint races.

The arrival became very painful. The decision to stop was made at the Ruka World Cup 2020, when the skier fell ill again.

– I knew right then and there that I wasn’t going to try skiing again. I haven’t regretted a day. You won’t miss the ski slopes.

Mountain running started in the summer of 2016, when Saapunki started spending the summers with her husband Ville Miettunen with in Italy. The results of the games were so promising that Finns in Central Europe were encouraged to change their overalls to running shoes.

– My results surprised and interested me.

Two years ago, the couple took a big step and moved to Bormio, Italy, at an altitude of about 1,200 meters. In order to reach the elite of mountain running, Saapung has to train and live at a high altitude.

Life in the embrace of the mountains tastes good.

– It feels like there are more animals than people in the neighborhood. Everything is serene, you can focus on what is essential. The people are really friendly.

Hard level

In mountain running, the competition is tough. The stars of many countries compete not only in the mountains, but also in marathons, track and cross-country.

This year, Uganda won the marathon World Cup gold Victor Kiplangat is the mountain running world champion from a few years ago.

– If you want to succeed in men’s mountain running, you have to run 10 kilometers in 28 minutes or less in the road race. You still have to have a strong ability to absorb oxygen, Saapunki explains.

– In the women’s races, the shares of Central Europeans rise in the uphill races. Kenyan and Ugandan women are not so good on the steep, but on a normal trip the pace is fast.

The prize money is modest.

– You get 1,000–5,000 euros per race for the win. I am able to do this because of my personal sponsors.

Appiukko coaches

The native of Kuusamo ran 4,500 kilometers during the training season this year. Next year, the goal is 5,000 kilometers.

Saapunkki has had to get his legs used to running large amounts of kilometers. The father-in-law works as a coach Kari Miettunenwho also piloted his daughter-in-law in a skiing career.

– I don’t know how many father-in-laws know their daughter-in-law’s morning weight and nighttime heart rate. It is certainly exceptional for many. This works for us, Saapunki laughs.

Saapunki is seventh in the mountain running world ranking. He won three races during the season and was on the podium five times. Mountain running made a dream come true.

– Ever since I was little, it has been my goal to be a top athlete. Now I have found my own place.