Paralympics Matti Suur-Hamar’s homesickness starts even before going to the competition: “When there is a little dude at home, there is a lot of rush home”

When Matti Suur-Hamari defending his snowboard cross Olympic victory in Beijing, a man who has changed four years ago will go down the slope.

Then a lot has happened in the life of Pyeongchang-Greater Hamar, 35. First coached in Greater Hamar Paralympic Gold in the fall of 2019 Mikko Wendelin died of a sudden attack at the age of 41 years. Soon after, life began in the midst of a corona pandemic.

Towards the end of 2021, it was the turn of happier and even greater things. Greater Hamar and Ronja Rajalan a son was born to the family, and the snowboarder became a father for the first time in his life.

Greater Hamari says there has been a lot of spiritual growth in Pyeongchang since then. Thoughts have shattered from side to side.

“He has had to think and got to think about life as a whole. The spectrum of emotions has been covered quite a lot. It’s pretty hard to put those feelings into words. I am grateful for every moment, whether they are happy or sad. They have brought a lot of color to the athlete’s everyday life, ”says Suur-Hamari.

The flame for sports and sports still burns strong. Greater Hamari feels that he has been able to develop even during the corona years. There is solid support for a sporting career from home, although the mind of the snowboarder himself sometimes threatens to escape back to the family.

“Of course when there is a little dude at home, there is a lot of hurry to go home from the trips. It’s really hard to go on trips when you start to feel homesick before you leave. The baby’s everyday life has been well taken care of. Many thanks to the spouse for being a great responsibility. It has been a confident mind to travel. ”

Read more: Soundman Matti Suur-Hamar’s life was revolutionized in a car accident – now he lives his dream as a professional snowboarder

Unchanged compared to four years ago, Greater Hamar has another chance to succeed. At the World Championships in January, Greater Hamari won the World Championship.

Compared to the World Championships, Chinese competitors who have not traveled to international competitions in a couple of years will also be included. According to Suur-Hamar, there are a few tough counters leaving the host country.

“Whenever the gate falls, the goal is to be number one on the line. The competition is fierce and everything can be done to make the bow last. The goal is a good race and to enjoy snowboarding and race feel,” says Suur-Hamari.

Matti Suur-Hamari dropped to victory in the Pyeongchang snowboard cross. Picture: Thomas Lovelock

Snowboarders compete in the Paralympic Zhangjiakou. The place was heavily on display during the Olympics due to the cold mountain winds and frosts. It is less than two weeks between the end of the Olympics and the start of the Paralympics, but the weather towards Zhangjiakou has not been affected.

On Friday, snowboarders could not train because the wind was blowing too hard. It is hoped that the exercises on Saturday will be successful. The snowboard cross qualifier is scheduled for Sunday.

“It’s been cold and windy, and it seems like that will continue for a while. Hopefully the wind would subside so we could get to the slope. The cold has never bothered me, it can be cold. ”

Cannon snow in a cold condition is a different condition for a snowboarder than anywhere else. Greater Hamari says the situation is not disturbing. The condition has been known and has been well tested.

“The soups are in place.”

Paralympics the opening was celebrated on Friday. Due to its race schedules, Suur-Hamari did not go to the Beijing Bird’s Nest Stadium for the opening ceremony.

When the Finnish teams did not get involved in the Paralympics, the representative group is this time the size of six athletes. Pyeongchang four years ago featured 13 athletes, five of whom were part of a team that played in wheelchair curling.

This time the Paralympics will remember at least that under them Russia launched hostilities against Ukraine. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) closed the Russian and Belarusian Paralympics earlier this week.

Greater Hamari says everyone is following the news and discussing the topic to some extent. At the same time, athletes try to focus on their own performance.

“Here we are in such a big sports bubble that the outside world is quite a distant thing. Let’s go between the race village and the race venue. By the way, no one here is focusing on anything else. Of course, after the IPC’s decision, the Russians and Belarusians have not been seen anymore. ”