BiathlonBiathlon - Finland
Romaniemi OY
Appointed by surprise last May as the new head coach of the biathlon Finnish Antti Leppävuori now assessing the first months of training and sets up the great work to do to bring up a discipline that is rising as the number of practitioners.
Tuesday 6 December 2016 10 minutes reading time
After last nell''aprile the head coach of the Finnish Mark Laaksonen biathlon has abbondonato his position for personal reasons, much of the trade press Suomi had planned as his successor or to promote a technical by junior teams or to continue in the wake initiated by special jump with the 'engagement of Mitter and open up a new working four years with a technical foreigner.
Neither of these two possibility '' it is but '' occurred and the Finnish Biathlon Association has the following month announced the surprising name of Antti Leppävuori.
name unknown to most who are accustomed to winter sports, and person totally mysterious to those who only biathlon chews.
To find traces of the "professor" in the sports landscape must go back to the early '90s where initially with junior and later with the promotion that leads him in 1995 to coach the cross-country national team begins to be appreciated. It remains in office until the infamous edition of the World Championships in Lahti in 2001 in which six members of the well-Suomi teams are caught with their hands in the infamous doping jam causing a scandal that forever will brand the nefarious edition.
Leppävuori along with all the coaches and doctors are immediately expelled but unlike others he names not '' ever been expelled or banned from activities '' sport.
After the 'activities' 'in the bottom Antti starts teaching technology applied to sport at the' University of Jyväskylä. Following always the same university as Project Manager at Snowpolis Vuokatti the increasingly pursuing different projects related to technology and sports.
After 15 years totally dedicated by the university, he arrived at age 57 and presumably now launched a florida retirement last May Leppävuori receives the call of the father-master of the Finnish biathlon Olli Nepponen suggesting the role left vacant by Laaksonen despite having never had no previous activity in the world of biathlon and being out of the loop for almost two decades.
In mid-May, the coach accepts the 'assignment and presents to the press.
Rumors and rumors sinivalkoinen see some pressure Kaisa Mäkäräinen behind the choice of Antti. Some journalists even suggest an out out of Kaisa that would threaten the withdrawal dell''attività Leppävuori if it had not been chosen.
Certainly the two have been dating for some time and knew each sportingly well because Kaisa all''istituto student from the Vuokatti Sports had the "Professor" as his teacher.
Besides that during the many training camp that the two-time winner of the sphere of PROCEEDED Crystal at the biathlon center of town in the region of Kainuu the two are not sure they avoided having also Jarmo Punkkinen - Kaisa personal coach - as a close friend in common .
In this regard no surprise certainly the words of Mäkäräinen upon appointment Antti: "I know Leppävuori since high school in Vuokatti and although it is a completely new sport for him I'm sure that will develop skills '' and new projects. He has strong leadership skills, coaching and sports research. "
He presented himself humbly now Leppävuori looks with ambition to the strategy for the five-year period 2016-2021, but with a well-defined first goal for this season: "Last year in males we did not collect any point of the World Cup and we finished in 21st place the classification by nation, so now we can compete only three men. Already with quest''anno we enter the best 17 nations, and then earn a breastplate more. "
If good day starts in the morning a small first target was reached with the 'great 20th place finish from Tuomas Gronman nell''individuale Östersund last week.
On summer training Leppävuori proves happy saying "We worked well, by training harder and differently than in the past. In the national team we are now a small group of 5 men and 5 women. The boys are all improved with the rhythm of skiing and Sanna Markkanen among women, and '' one that has progressed the most. Obviously Mäkäräinen and Laukkanen are our tips and have their own autonomy outside the training camp. I hope that their successes could pull the whole Finnish team ".
It is not seen in conflict with the work Kaisa usually does with Punkkinen: "I know him well and we are dividing the work by mutual consent and both me and Jarmo require much under the side of '' intensity and physical stress."
As for the part shooting, Leppävuori had initially entrusted to technical Norwegian Joar Himler but that '' in July decided to stay at home and his place and '' was entrusted to the proven Asko Nuutinen.
In addition to these innovations in September it occurs un''altro important change to the Suomen Biathlon Association summits. Antti Afflekt is named as the new Executive Director and together they set objectives and a common strategy between the Federation, the sports institutes across the country of a thousand lakes and ski clubs that would aim to establish Finland among the best nations 8/10 in the world .
Strategy that involves an ever closer cooperation between the three components, constant checks during the training camp of the under 20 and 18 and more exchanges of information between the federal clinics and technicians are among the major guidelines of this project.
The target for the next five years are the ones primarily to increase by a further 20% the number of national practitioners and visibility '' on the various media. Then in sports their aim to have 4 level athletes who can win medals and placings among the top 10-20.
While the team as their goal is to have 8-10 athletes distributed on the 2 sexes with a potential to be consistently in the points of the World Cup races.
We allow us to define quite reached the top, while quite complex sporting level the targets set by the duo Afflekt - Leppävuori, at least in the short time since their set. In any case, however, we can make an appointment with two Finnish executives to 2021 to find with the 'achievement of these objectives.
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