There is only one Finnish medal favorite in Milano-Cortina.
Iivo Niskanen is the only Finnish medal favorite in Olympic skiing. Jussi Saarinen
Four years ago, they returned home from China with no less than six skiing medals, but now the corresponding Olympic prize is a utopia.
Fifty medal hopefuls and one medal favorite.
That’s the way to sum up the expectations of Finnish skiing at the Italian Winter Olympics starting this week.
The event in Val di Fiemme is more challenging for Finns than the events in Zhangjiakou, because the intermediate starts and the pair relay are held in free time. Of the medalists from four years ago Krista Pärmäkoski is not what it used to be and Kerttu in Niskase it has been a very difficult season. Iivo Niskanen is still the backbone of the Finnish team. For the host of Pohjois Savo, a medal from the royal tour is a realistic goal.
Iltalehti analyzes the Milano-Cortina skiing competitions race by race. The expected value is 1–3 medals.
Combined skiing 10+10 km
The same song for women and men: with the traditional one, you are close to the top, but with the free ride, the ride is too brutal.
A traditional sprint
Jasmi Joensuu won the traditional sprint of the Val di Fiemme stage at the Tour de Ski. Jussi Saarinen
In women Jasmi Joensuu and Johanna Matintalo are medal hopefuls. It means that with pole decency success and the fine softening of the racing sisters, you can get on the ball. The long race track does not weaken the seams of the Finns. Four Swedes, Kristine Skistad and Nadine Fähndrich are the main opponents.
In a body Lauri Vuorinen a medal would require a skiing advantage similar to the World Championships in Trondheim. Vuorinen’s results have not been as good as the last few snows, but on the other hand, the Olympic spot was in his pocket already in the fall, so there has been no pressure to succeed in the mc events.
10 km (year)
The most difficult Finnish competition before the Olympics. Even one point, i.e. placing in the top eight, would be a positive surprise. Of course, succeeding in the Olympic Games is a little easier behind the absolute top than in the World Cup, because there are only four Norwegians and four Swedes on the line for men and women.
4 x 7.5 km relay
Johanna Matintalo is hungry for success in the sprint, relay and 50 kilometers. Jussi Saarinen
Responsible coach of the women’s team Reijo Jylhä announced already in the basic training season that the goal is a medal. Before the start of the season, the goal seemed realistic, as the main opponents of the bronze medal battle, Germany, lost Victoria Carlin the doping ice shelf and the level of the USA Jessie Diggins behind has faded.
Pärmäkoski’s weak season and Niskanen’s problems are eating away at Finland’s seams. Matintalo opens, Niskanen skis the second part, but who will skate? In the light of the results of the early season, the yellow beak of the value race relays is a candidate for the hard driving section Vilma Ryytty and Jasmi Joensuu as anchor. Without scraps or ski eggs, Sweden wins and Norway takes silver. Finland’s medal goal has turned into a medal dream.
Three years ago, the men’s relay quartet won the World Championship silver in Planica. Trondheim’s WC relay was ruined by Iivo Niskanen’s illness and Niko Anttolan due to a fall. After the superior Norway, at least France, Sweden, Italy and Switzerland wanted to join the medal train. In the last World Cup, the teams in places 2–5 were within four seconds. Finland has faint medal hopes.
Pair message (v)
Sweden, Norway and Germany are the women’s clear medal favorites. Joensuu will be skiing as a couple, like the two mc races this winter Jasmin Kähärä. The duo was sixth in Davos and fourth in Goms. Sweden’s top guns were missing from the latter race. Kähärä’s season has so far been unavoidable. The medal requires a big Finnish advantage in terms of equipment and the approval of at least one favorite country.
In men, Lauri Vuorinen and probably Joni Mäki compete for points.
50 km (p) joint start
Kerttu Niskanen’s results are a mystery after the illness. Jussi Saarinen
The women’s 50 km is on the Olympic program for the first time. Sange’s hard-to-predict race, because the skis are changed and the conditions might be similar to the World Championships in Trondheim. The top-fit Kerttu Niskanen would be a medal favorite, but this season’s Niskanen is a real medal hope. Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson and Astrid Slind are currently the biggest medal favorites. The last time Matintalo was in a result shock similar to the last few weeks in the spring and winter of 2024, he was eighth in Holmenkollen’s fifty.
Iivo Niskanen is looking for his fourth Olympic victory in his fourth Olympic Games. He is defending the fifty traditional gold from eight years ago. After the 2018 title in South Korea, he has competed a total of seven times in the World Cup and World Championship trials with the under-50s. The best finish is fourth place from the 2022 Oslo Holmenkollen mc-start.
The gold rush in Italy is made easier when only four Norwegians are allowed in the event, that is in practice Martin Nyenget, Johannes Klæbo, Mattis Stenshagen and possibly Harald Amundsen. The list of other medal candidates is short: William Poromaa.
Can a Finn get a break-up buddy during the trip? That’s what that baby needs.
If the game is decided in the last couple of kilometers in a tight fight, everyone knows that then Klæbo cannot be defeated.
Missing a medal would be a severe disappointment for Niskanes.
