Finnish skating news, 2018 onwards

[Karen-W]

Finnish entries for Worlds -

https://twitter.com/AnythingGOE/status/1762101323594342782?t=2OGOgNEScUgtIJ8wNdt8pQ&s=19

Women - Nella Pelkonen
Men - Valtter Virtanen
Pairs - Vaananen/Clerici
Dance - Turkkila/Versluis and Orihara/Pirinen

 

[Sylvia]

2024 Worlds results:
Ice Dance: Turkkila/Versluis 10th and Orihara/Pirinen 16th of 36 teams
Women: Nella Pelkonen 24th of 35
Men: Valtter Virtanen 34th of 40
Pairs: Vaananen/Clerici 18th of 24

From: https://twitter.com/Ritti9/status/1780543393136791740
"Finland's national team for 2024-25: Petra Lahti changes countries from Finland to New Zealand (her mother's home country). Matias Lindfors has changed to represent the Virtanens' club. Linnea Ceder is required to show additional proof to keep her spot."

Maajoukkue kaudelle 2024–2025 nimetty - Suomen Taitoluisteluliitto ry

Suomen Taitoluisteluliiton hallitus on vahvistanut yksinluistelun ja jäätanssin lajityöryhmien ehdotuksesta luistelijat maajoukkueeseen. Onnea Valituille! Yksinluistelu, naisetLotta Artimo EsJtPihla Bergman, EsJt, uusiLinnea Ceder, EsJt, ehdollinen*Karina Innos, KoTa, uusiJanna Jyrkinen...

www.stll.fi

16/04/2024
The national team for the 2024–2025 season has been named
The board of the Finnish Figure Skating Association has confirmed the skaters for the national team, based on the proposal of the individual skating and ice dance working groups. Good luck to the chosen ones!

Single skating, women
Lotta Artimo EsJt
Pihla Bergman, EsJt, new
Linnea Ceder, EsJt, conditional*
Karina Innos, KoTa, new
Janna Jyrkinen, LrTL
Iida Karhunen, LrTL
Olivia Lisko, EsJt
Oona Ounasvuori, ETK
Nella Pelkonen, TapTL
Annika Pellonmaa, ETK, new
Emmi Peltonen, HTK
Minja Peltonen, EsJt
Rosa Reponen, TapTL, conditional*
Venla Sinisalo, RauTL, new
Darja Trubitson, RauTL
Selma Välitalo, OLK, new

Single skating, men
Arttu Juusola, PoriTa
Jari Krestyannikov, TapTL, new
Matias Lindfors, PeSal
Makar Suntsev, KoTa
Valtter Virtanen, PeSal

Pair skating
Milania Väänänen–Filippo Clerici, HL

Ice dance
Yuka Orihara–Juho Pirinen, HL
Juulia Turkkila–Matthias Versluis, HL

*conditional – additional screenings are required at the national team's start camp in May or the summer competition in August

GSD thread about Laura Lepisto's autobiography:

Laura Lepistö's autobiography published April 2024 in Finland

Laura Lepistö's autobiography, Voittava mieli [Winning Mind] was published in Finland on April 11, 2024 - her video+post on publication day: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5nNDH6tPp2/ I believe that the themes of the book can resonate, whether you are a parent of a child who is interested, a...

www.fsuniverse.net

ETA:

Petra Lahti's ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00111864.htm
Her most recent internationaly competion for Finland was winning Junior bronze at The Nordics (Feb. 3, 2024). She is the 2024 Finnish Junior silver medalist.
Lahti’s end of season post 5 days ago: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5qjdwXIlcO/

2023-2024 season is oveerr!! has been such a great season with a lot of new experiences, great competitions and fun times!
during next season i will be switching countries to represent new zealand as i was born there and have dual citizenship! so excited for next season although i cant compete internationally until february due to rules!
so a big thank you to @skatingfinland for everything!!
also super thankful for @skateshophelsinki and @tslihashuolto aand of course friends and family for all the help this season!

 

[Sylvia]

Laura Lepistö to the Board of Directors of the Finnish Olympic Committee (Nov. 30, 2024): https://www.stll.fi/2024/11/30/laura-lepisto-olympiakomitean-hallitukseen/

Re-posting here from the OES News thread:

Finnish nationals are next weekend. There will be a battle between Virtanen and Suntsev in men, plus several candidates - no [Emmi] Peltonen - in ladiezzz. It is held in Rauma, too far from me this time.

Finnish Nationals dates are Friday-Sunday, Dec. 13-15, 2024 - event info: https://rautl.sporttisaitti.com/sm2025/

3 YLE livestreams ("see within the EU" - so VPN required outside the EU?):
RD & Men's SP: https://areena.yle.fi/1-72313821
Women's SP: https://areena.yle.fi/1-72313820
FD, Men's & Women's FS: https://areena.yle.fi/1-72313818
"The competitions will be commented by Sara Honkavaara and Mika Saarelainen."

ETA: Emmi Peltonen has been performing in the outdoor ice shows in Vail, Colorado (her Instagram is private now but she shared some clips from Vail on Nov. 30).

 

[Lacerta]

Great consistency from Iida again in junior SP. Venla also skate at her usual level. Saaga Volkova was great surprise, very clean skate and beautiful performance. I wonder where is Lotta Artimo though? I hope not injured again?

Also, where is Matias Lindfors? He seems to be missing from start list.

 

[Sylvia]

Also, where is Matias Lindfors? He seems to be missing from start list.

"Matias Lindfors, who represents Peurunka Skating Academy Laukaa, will have to miss the Finnish Championships due to injury." - Dec. 11th press release: https://www.stll.fi/2024/12/11/tait...hteessa-sm-mitaleista-ja-em-edustuspaikoista/
Copying out the 4 links at the end:
Broadcasts
Season Best statistics
Selection criteria for competitions
Schedule and results of the Finnish Figure Skating Championships

 

[Finnice]

Last year's champions Nella Pelkonen and Makar Suntsev have both withdrawn. Pelkonen is still suffering from ankle injury and Suntsev is sick.

Emmi Peltonen did not skate at the qualifiers, so she does have right to attend.

 

[Lacerta]

Too bad about the injuries. We’ll have new champions this year (or, in case of men, maybe old )

Yuka and Juho’s RD is a masterpiece and I suspect will remain the ultimate highlight of ID this season.

 

[Lacerta]

Positively surprised about the level of ladies. Linnea’s skating looked very easy and effortless, she has to be in very good condition. And somehow Olivia reminds me of Laura Lepistö: same jump layout, the layback with increasing speed…

 

[Kelvster]

Seems there’s no thread in the kiss n cry section

So who will be sent to Euros?

I liked Linnea Ceder when she competed a few seasons ago. Quite elegant. Olivia Lisko seemed ok too from Finlandia trophy (lots of energy).

Amongst the men, will they send Dr. V? I am surprised that Doctor is doing so well after a rough season so far!

 

[sus2850]

@Karen-W posted the info who they‘ll send in the thread „2025 European Championships info“ here in GSD.
Here is what Karen wrote:

Finland - https://yle.fi/a/74-20131542
Men: Valtter Virtanen. Reserves in order Makar Suntsev, Arttu Juusola.
Women: Janna Jyrkinen, Linnea Ceder. Reserves in order Olivia Lisko, Nella Pelkonen.
Pair skating: Milania Väänänen–Filippo Clerici
Ice dance: Juulia Turkkila–Matthias Versluis, Yuka Orihara–Juho Pirinen

 

[Sylvia]

Seems there’s no thread in the kiss n cry section

I knew my limits for posting European Nationals results this weekend. That's why all the Nationals info/links were in this thread.

Dec. 15th press release/recap - "The Finnish Figure Skating Championships and European Championship places were awarded over the weekend."

Viikonloppuna jaettiin taitoluistelun Suomen mestaruudet ja EM-paikat - Suomen Taitoluisteluliitto ry

Taitoluistelun Suomen mestaruuskilpailut käytiin viikonvaihteessa 13.–15.12.2024 Kivikylän Areenalla Raumalla. Mestaruuksien lisäksi Suomen kärkiluistelijat antoivat viimeiset näytöt tammi-helmikuun vaihteessa Tallinnassa järjestettäviin taitoluistelun EM-kilpailuihin. Suomen Taitoluisteluliiton...

www.stll.fi

Senior Medalists:

1 Valtter VIRTANEN PeSal 190.69 1 1
2 Arttu JUUSOLA PoriTa 163.42 2 3
3 Jan OLLIKAINEN HTA 161.63 3 2

1 Olivia LISKO EsJt 169.93 1 1
2 Linnea CEDER EsJt 161.71 2 2
3 Janna JYRKINEN ETK 155.96 3 3

1 Juulia TURKKILA / Matthias VERSLUIS HL 200.53 1 1
2 Yuka ORIHARA / Juho PIRINEN HL 192.08 2 2
3 Daniela IVANITSKIY / Matthew SPERRY HL 142.18 3 3

1 Milania VÄÄNÄNEN / Filippo CLERICI HL 161.06 1 1

Junior winners: Iida KARHUNEN 166.79, Matias HEINONEN 145.18 2 1 (close 2nd was Benjamin ERIKSSON 143.63 1 2) & Hilda TAYLOR / Alexander BUCHHOLDT 126.86

All results: https://www.figureskatingresults.fi/results/2425/YLPLJTSM2025/index.htm

 

[IDC a.k.a. Ritti]

Helsinki Arena (venue for 1999 & 2017 figure skating Worlds and 2009 Europeans) has finally been sold to new Finnish owners and can now reopen. The arena has been closed since Feb 2022 due to sanctions imposed against the previous Russian-background owners. "We have the readiness to host the first events in April", their frontman said. The negotiations lasted more than two years.
BTW, Helsinki set to host Synchro Worlds 2025 on April 4-5 in another, smaller and older rink (Helsinki Ice Hall).

New Finnish owners open doors of Helsinki's long-disused arena

A Finnish real estate firm has bought the facility after two years of negotiations and legal red tape prompted by EU sanctions imposed on its previous owners.

yle.fi

In other news, Valtter Virtanen ended up missing the Worlds technical minimum score by mere 0.83 points, despite doing 5 competitions within 4 weeks and improving his previous PB by almost 9 points last weekend in Merano Cup.

Suomalaiset mitalisijoille Tilburgissa, Tallinnassa ja Meranossa - Suomen Taitoluisteluliitto ry

Tällä viikolla kilpailtiin Alankomaissa, Virossa ja Italiassa. Suomi saavutti kolmesta kilpailusta yhteensä yhdeksän mitalia. Makar Suntsevilta ja Valtter Virtaselta odotettiin MM-teknisten pisterajojen saavuttamista, sillä Suomelta puuttuu vielä miesten edustuspaikka maaliskuun lopussa...

www.stll.fi

Finland's team for Worlds will be nominated by February 23. Janna Jyrkinen, Linnea Ceder and Olivia Lisko are all set to compete internationally this week. They all have a realistic chance to grab the lone women's spot (even though Ceder has been erased from the statistics page?!). https://www.stll.fi/maajoukkue/seasonbest/yl-jt-pl-arvokilpailuvalintojen-tilastot/

 

[Karen-W]

Finland's team for Worlds will be nominated by February 23. Janna Jyrkinen, Linnea Ceder and Olivia Lisko are all set to compete internationally this week. They all have a realistic chance to grab the lone women's spot (even though Ceder has been erased from the statistics page?!). https://www.stll.fi/maajoukkue/seasonbest/yl-jt-pl-arvokilpailuvalintojen-tilastot/

Looks like it was updated yesterday after this week's competitions. Jyrkinen WD from Road to 26 after the SP. Ceder beat Lisko by 12 points at Bellu Memorial and that was enough to put her over the top, so the spot should be hers.

 

[Karen-W]

Looks like it was updated yesterday after this week's competitions. Jyrkinen WD from Road to 26 after the SP. Ceder beat Lisko by 12 points at Bellu Memorial and that was enough to put her over the top, so the spot should be hers.

Ceder is confirmed for the Worlds team -

Skating Finland on Instagram: "Suomen Taitoluisteluliiton liittohallitus on nyt vahvistanut joukkueen, joka edustaa Suomea taitoluistelun MM-kilpailuissa 26.–30.3.2025 Bostonissa, Yhdysvalloissa. ✨ Suomella on edustus naisten yksinluistelussa, jääta

603 likes, 1 comments - skatingfinland on February 23, 2025: "Suomen Taitoluisteluliiton liittohallitus on nyt vahvistanut joukkueen, joka edustaa Suomea taitoluistelun MM-kilpailuissa 26.–30.3.2025 Bostonissa, Yhdysvalloissa. ✨ Suomella on edustus naisten yksinluistelussa, jäätanssissa ja...

www.instagram.com

 

[Karen-W]

Whoa. Vaananen/Clerici have ended their partnership per this IG story from Milania.

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She doesn't state any future plans for either, however Filippo states in his re-share of her story that Milania decided to look for a new partner & new coach.

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[CassAgain]

Too bad but not terribly surprising.

Are there any potential Finnish pairs boys in the pipeline?

 

[Sabine-Yuna]

I guess Milania tries to go the "Russian" way with a Russian Coach that provides her with a Russian partner. But that's just a guess, because it seems to be the easiest way to be more succesful.

 

[Karen-W]

I guess Milania tries to go the "Russian" way with a Russian Coach that provides her with a Russian partner. But that's just a guess, because it seems to be the easiest way to be more succesful.

Possibly. There are a few options I can think of who aren't Russian. Ivan Khobta is still in Colorado Springs looking for a partner, Ryan Bedard and Marco Zandron are both still on ice partner search. Who knows what Danylo Siianytsia is up to these days.

 

[karmena]

I guess Milania tries to go the "Russian" way with a Russian Coach that provides her with a Russian partner. But that's just a guess, because it seems to be the easiest way to be more succesful.

It is enough to look on Melania's face to see that she herself is of Russian blood. There is that distinctive Slavonic features in her look and not only in the look, not Finnish at all. Her mother is Russian/Ukrainian.
To find a Russian coach or partner does not mean an immediate success in pair skating. For example Liubov I. didn't bring any success to Dylan M.; she never was not able to manage her jumps.
Talent lives in all nations.

 

[Finnice]

Too bad but not terribly surprising.

Are there any potential Finnish pairs boys in the pipeline?

There are no Finnish pair boys/men.

 

[Kelvster]

Emmi Peltonen has announced her retirement on IG.

What a wonderful skater she was / is!! She probably never realized her true potential, but am glad that she went to the Olympics (though I don't recall if it was a controversial decision to send her instead of Viveca Lindfors at the time). She can also be very proud of her comeback after the huge surgery, where she finished in a respectable 11th place at Europeans.

 

[Ikari]

Emmi Peltonen has announced her retirement on IG.

Unfortunate, but hardly surprising. This season was a struggle and things surely weren't going to get easier. Her soft, feminine style was a rarity in Finnish skating scene, and sorely missed.