Comment | Krista Pärmäkoski's career is coming to a sad end

Alpe Cermis

Krista Pärmäkoski made really confusing comments about the continuation of his career on Sunday after the Tour de Ski ended.

Pärmäkoski, 33, revealed that he had just skied the last ascent of Alpe Cermis in his career. However, Pärmäkoski did not directly answer whether it is possible that his skiing career will continue, and only the Tours are over for him.

The only thing that is certain about this wound is the end of Pärmäkoski's Tour career. He will announce the final fate of his career in the spring.

If the ski boots get nailed in March, Pärmäkoski's wonderful career will come to a sad end.

Pärmäkoski publicly nailed the Tour de Ski as his absolute main goal of the season already in the fall. And why not, because there are no value races this winter, and a year ago Pärmäkoski fought for the victory of the tour until he got sick.

However, the Tour went badly under the bench from Pärmäkoski. The best performance of the Finn, who was chasing the top places, was the fifth fastest time in the free pursuit skied on New Year's Day.

After Toblach, the luck turned: Pärmäkoski suffered from bad equipment problems in both of his final tour parade trips, in the 20-kilometer (p) pursuit of Davos and in the 15-kilometer (p) joint start of Val di Fiemme.

Seventh place in the overall race remained.

Considering the starting points, it was even a very successful performance, even though there was only 16,000 euros left in the hand.

In November At the end of the Ruka World Cup, one could not help but pay attention to the changed nature of Pärmäkoski. Even though the mono wasn't eating yet, he was exceptionally confident.

At that time, a genuine passion for skiing shined from the drunken and sometimes a little irritated skier in interviews. Pärmäkoski knew that his condition would show up again as long as he got less race kilometers.

There was a cover for self-confidence. Pärmäkoski is said to be in the best shape of his life in autumn.

He had made a radical decision in the spring and taken more responsibility for his own training. More than 15 years of coaching relationship Matti Haaviston with continued, but the joint trainings decreased considerably.

For a long time it seemed that the solution would bear fruit, until at the beginning of December, at the Jällivaara World Cup, another line appeared in the corona test. The viral disease was not particularly severe, but time simply ran out.

The tuning of the top condition broke like a wall, and so the Tour de Skille was traveled by a skier who was not in good shape. When equipment problems were added to the equation, the result was a severe disappointment compared to the original goals.

Pärmäkoski the main theme of the last couple of seasons has been bad luck and health problems. There's really plenty to complain about, even if Pärmäkoski hasn't done it in public.

The experienced skier already left last season's delicious settings, when Therese Johaug had finished. From the Tour and Planica's World Cup skiing, we were allowed to expect fireworks similar to the three-medal Olympic Games in Pyeongchang 2018.

It didn't happen like that, but in the end, not many things could have gone worse. The tenacious runner's knee started to bother him already in the fall, and the Tour, which had started perfectly, was interrupted due to a stomach ailment. At the World Championships, Pärmäkoski's performance was affected by a virus that later turned out to be corona.

Bad luck hardly has any common denominator other than the susceptibility to illness typical of elite athletes. Of course, Pärmäkoski admitted in October 2022 that he no longer can handle every human contact to the extent that he did during the heavy corona years. Many other top leaders made the same type of decision, which has been reflected in a high number of illnesses.

On Sunday, Pärmäkoski said that he does not regret changing to a more relaxed attitude. He can no longer sit alone in the cabin and be afraid of viruses.

Pärmäkoski and from the point of view of the entire Finnish skiing public, it is above all sad, in what kind of unlucky cycle Pärmäkoski's handsome career can end.

Pärmäkoski, who has reached the World Cup podium 36 times and won 12 prestigious medals, is by some standards even the most successful Finnish skier of the 2010s, or at least a good runner-up Iivo Niskanen double cloth.

Nobody can take his achievements away from him, but the crown of his career could be much brighter. If you are interested in polishing the crown, you shouldn't leave the game unfinished just yet.

Pärmäkoski still has a lot to offer.