Where are we going, national team

How did the summer training go, national team head coach Jonne Kähkönen?   

We had a great start to the early summer as a whole team together, following the corona recommendations, in the athletes' homelands in Joensuu and Kontiolahti. After the middle of June, there was a month of self-training, when we were able to refine the things of the early season in home training. In the summer, emphasis has been placed on building both physical and shooting skills. The first training competitions were already held in the second week of June, and sport training has been gradually introduced.

Did the training change compared to previous years?   

Intense and traditional camp-style training could not be organized right at the beginning of the season. Therefore, the athletes and their personal coaches have had perhaps more responsibility than usual. The Central European teams get to use the mountains practically from their doorstep, so we have a little back ground when we haven't had high altitude training. Instead of complaining, we have sought to develop the features that we can do in the shelters: there is still room for improvement in shooting. Shooting technique and transferring it to sport performance has been one emphasis. The theme has also been maintaining the competitive touch.

Autumn training: what, where and how to train?    

We moved the two camps planned in Anterselva, Italy to Vuokatti in order to protect the travel recommendations and the health of the athletes. In the fall, the emphasis of training is now on sport performance and its refinement, so there will be quite a lot of roller biathlon. In Vuokatti, we take advantage of the conditions that are available there, such as roller skiing technique exercises in a controlled manner on a mat (in the laboratory). At the turn of October-November, we will get a feel for the snow in Olos, from where we will descend to Kontiolahti in November and prepare for the home opener.

Photo: Kontiolahti wall climb / Kontiolahti Biathlon / Jarno Lautamatti