Finnish national titles for Korhonen and Hirvonen
Apr 26, 2023·Nordic Combined
On April 15th the Finnish Championships took place in Ounasvaara, Rovaniemi.
Minja Korhonen of Siilinjärvi Ponnistus and Eero Hirvonen of Jyväskylä Ski Club claimed the national titles 2023 in Nordic Combined.
With 95.5 points, Korhonen was particularly satisfied with her jumping performance:
“The jumping today went better than I expected. It's been a really difficult season, so the jumping part was a positive surprise today. I am not in my best cross-country shape anymore, after many competitions this season and it felt a bit heavy on the course. However, I was able to pull through until the end,” said the 15-year-old.
Heta Hirvonen of the Lahti Ski Club took the second place, while bronze went to Annamaija Oinas of Taivalkoski Kuohu.
In a tight men's competition it all came down to a direct duel between the best Finnish World Cup athletes Eero Hirvonen and Ilkka Herola (Puijo Ski Club).
Both delivered a strong race and gained many places after the Ski Jumping part. Herola had the fastest skiing time with 22:10.6 min, Hirvonen the second fastest with 22:28.5 min.
In the end, Hirvonen was able to win the thrilling “Finnish finish sprint” by a razor-thin lead of 0.1 seconds. Herola placed second, while the third place went to Arttu Mäkiaho from Kainuun Hiihtoseura.
“I had a challenging morning due to some issues with a nerve in my back, but it fortunately got better when I skipped the trial round on the hill and went jogging instead. From rank 4 after jumping I managed to deliver a great cross-country performance which made the competition of course a lot easier”, commented Hirvonen.
In the Youth U18 competition only Lumia Nurmela of Ounasvaara Ski Club competed in the women’s race and therefore won the title unrivaled, while Valtteri Holopainen of Siilinjärvi Ponnistus celebrated the Finnish championship title in the men’s U18 category.
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