Skiing | Krista Pärmäkoski reveals what would make life even better

Of importance became a hobby of skiing Krista Pärmäkoski beloved profession in the early 2010s.

More than ten years at the top have brought him 12 prestigious medals, immeasurably valuable experiences and, on the other hand, a nice worldly mammon. But the years have also taken their toll.

To basic spectators, top skiers appear as some kind of machines whose sole purpose is to get from the start to the finish line as quickly as possible. That’s only part of the truth.

The reality behind success is more subtle.

“This would be a really great dream job if I could always be at home – eat, sleep and train there and go to competitions so that I would just suddenly be at the competition location, but unfortunately it’s not like that,” says Pärmäkoski.

Pärmäkoski illustrates the rigors of professional skiing by opening his program for the coming months.

In October, he will travel to Italy’s Val Senales for a high-altitude camp, after which he will be home for five days before continuing his journey to the snows of Lapland.

The Lapin camp culminates in the opening competitions of the World Cup in Ruka, Kuusamo, on the last weekend of November. After Ruka, Pärmäkoski has time to rest for two days at home in Kuortane.

Then begins December’s merciless cup rumba around Europe. The competitions in Lillehammer, Beitostölen and Davos are skied on consecutive weekends.

“I will come home again for Christmas, unless I stay in Switzerland after Davos to prepare for the Tour de Ski,” Pärmäkoski says.

Where whenever you travel to Pärmäkoski, you practice or compete there with snot on your cheek. And you can’t get rid of the profession even at night. Pärmäkoski has been collecting sleep data with a smart watch for 13 years now. The sensations of the body are observed relentlessly throughout the year.

Pärmäkoski and other skiing peaks had to get used to an even rougher than usual rally a couple of years ago when the corona pandemic was sweeping the world. Human contacts and everyday joys outside of working were few and far between.

Iivo Niskanen told Ilta-Sanom in the summer that a couple of years of “full weight packing ate up the head”.

National team mate Pärmäkoski noticed the same.

“Yes, I also took it seriously, but some of them maybe closed off even more. Of course if From Tom (spouse) asks, so it wasn’t really strict just for me. The family and loved ones with whom I work in everyday life also had to limit their own lives a lot.”

The situation was at its worst last winter, when the Beijing Olympics were approaching and corona cases were at their darkest.

“I had to tell Tommi that you are not going to play that padel now. You won’t go until after I’ve left for the trip. I was home for two weeks, and he practically had to do the same.”

Pärmäkoski says that during the corona years, he only ate in a restaurant a few times – and even those few times were in the summer. For example, he never went to the movies. Pärmäkoski has not pushed carts in the grocery store in winter for many years.

During the Corona period, the isolation continued during the national team’s competition and camp trips, where the athletes stayed in single rooms. A couple of times a day you could ventilate in the canteen, but even that was accompanied by the fear of the virus.

“You had to eat at the buffet in ten minutes, after which you had to go back to your room to cook.”

Social minimalism teps. Pärmäkoski still hasn’t contracted the corona virus, and the traditional bronze medal was won at the Olympics. It was necessary, because in the second season, Pärmäkoski had sunk far below its own level.

“The bronze was important.”

Even though Korona is still roaring and next winter they will compete again for the World Cup medals, Pärmäkoski has loosened his skiing cap. He still doesn’t go crazy like the last day, but now he agrees to participate in parties and even go to the store like many other thirty-somethings.

In the grocery store, Pärmäkoski reveals that he “spent time” last spring – that’s how special normal life felt.

“Especially last year, there was a lot of stress when someone even sneezed. Now I don’t pack so much, but it has made some kind of sense. I don’t belittle the corona, but now it will come, if it has to come. It wouldn’t necessarily ruin everything, but if I had my way, I would prefer to move it to next spring,” says Pärmäkoski.

Next spring is still a long time away, especially by a skier’s standards. There are 12 World Cup race weekends, the Tour de Ski and the World Cup in Planica.

Pärmäkoski is preparing for the season from completely different starting points than he has ever had in his career. There are no more international competitions by Marit Björgen or Therese Johaugin such a dominator and the Russians are gone too.

The skier of the Ikaalian Athletes can truly fight for victory on the road as well as on the road, except perhaps for sprints. The training season has gone well and the records have been broken.

“There have been no problems.”

Pärmäkoski is visibly excited. He says that next winter he will invest equally in both the Tour de Ski and the World Championships in February-March.

“This is a really interesting situation. Before we went skiing for free, we knew who [Johaug] to win it. Now there are at least ten athletes fighting for victory. The playing field has thus changed.

Read more: Krista Pärmäkoski faces the biggest competitive change of her career: one skier is no longer superior

I ski the training field may change even more in the near future, because next winter may very well be the 31-year-old Pärmäkoski’s last at the top of his sport. According to him, the probability of stopping is fifty-fifty.

“The 2026 Olympics seem really far away now, but I can’t completely deny that either, because I’ve said that I’ll never move to Kuortane, and that’s where I live now. . .”

Pärmäkoski admits that he thinks about life after his career and his dreams more than before. My dream profession is a carpenter. On the other hand, he would be interested in working in one way or another with sports.

Read more: Krista Pärmäkoski revealed to Anna magazine her dream job after her skiing career: “I enjoy the fact that the handprint is immediately visible”

The options seem to be limitless.

“I wouldn’t be able to support myself as a carpenter right away, even if I started my own company and started making furniture or similar. Together, I also like to bake and cook. Maybe coaching? I can’t immediately get a full-time job from any of these, but I have to grow into them.”

Read more: Krista Pärmäkoski found an additional load in the yard of her home – the pile of clapboards has already changed its place twice

For now However, Pärmäkoski’s eyes are nailed to the tip of the sneakers, whether next season is the last dance or not.

Although Pärmäkoski talks openly about the dark side of his profession, his sincere enthusiasm and affection for skiing still shines through. And no wonder, because the first value competition win is closer than ever.

“After all, sport is just sickly cool, all the experiences, feelings and experiences you get through it. Both for good and for bad.”