Heptathlete Saga Vanninen carried Finland’s flag at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday, 11 August 2024. Finland’s failure to capture a single medal – the first such failure in 116 years of Summer Olympics – has continued to generate pointed discussion, with four Olympians injecting an athlete’s view into the discussion last week in a letter submitted to Helsingin Sanomat. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)
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A QUARTET of Finnish Olympic athletes have offered their thoughts about the underwhelming results of Finland at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In an open letter submitted to and published by Helsingin Sanomat, the athletes admitted that the results were broadly disappointing – with the games ending a 116-year medal streak for Finland in Summer Olympics – but only the “tip of the iceberg” for elite sports in Finland.
They welcomed the fact that not only elite athletes, but also the organisations that tasked with supporting athletes have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the Paris Olympics.
“We have been berated for Finland’s medal tally and lack of success for years, even though in reality every Finn who makes it into the Olympics is a fighter. Every Finnish Olympic athlete and their team have fought their way to the top of the world in spite of the system, rather than thanks to the system,” the letter reads.
The athletes revealed that many of their compatriots complained during the games about the lack of a spirit of collaboration and that they were left in solitude upon their arrival to the Olympics.
“The team’s management did not seem to be at all interested in cheering on the athletes before or after their event. Athletes whose event had ended and who could have supported and cheered on other athletes from the country were quickly sent home.”
The Finnish Olympic Committee has utterly failed to instil a culture of winning into its operations, the athletes argued
“In Paris, for example, it seemed to be more important for the management and personnel to entertain heads of state, other important guests or even their own family members,” the quartet slammed.
Finland, they added, has failed to move on from outdated and ineffective practices in elite sports and insists that such practices will somehow deliver better and different results. In reality, though, achieving success at the international level requires “continuous re-evaluation” and “courage” to change practices that are not producing results.
“With an approach like this, we are not progressing but falling constantly further and further behind other countries,” the athletes said.
The identities of the athletes are known to, but were not published by, Helsingin Sanomat.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
