Janne Salmi has his 30th Jukola ahead of him in Jämsä-Jukola this weekend. Salmi will run the second leg in the first team of the Turku Orienteers team (Turun Suunnistajat).

His experience in the top level orienteering is unique; Salmela has seen the orienteering world top both as an athlete himself and as a coach.  – Last year was the first Jukola I missed, Salmi says. 

This year Jukola has been a positive motivator for Salmi’s training. – Would I not been coming to Jukola I would not had trained and jogged at all during the past weeks, he tells. Salmi has been especially busy lately organising the World Cup organised in Turku last weekend. – I was able to visit the Jämsä-Jukola website the first time only this Tuesday, he confesses. 

With this level of preparation and especially when he has agreed to be a commentator in Jämsä-Jukola, it would be most unlikely for most orienteers to even dream about any kind of race success.

With Salmela one should not make this mistake. He admits that he has given thoughts to the future race tracks after his own organising pressure has eased up. – It might be slightly crazy to race this weekend, but Jukola always sparks me, he admits. 

The terrain in Central Finland is familiar to Salmi in many ways. – I have studied in Jyväskylä and in 1992 I wan the Fin5 event organised in Central Finland. Also the Hervoton-orienteering event (“the reckless orienteering”) organised by the Kollinmäki Hervottomat was in the list of my orienteering events regurlarly, he laughs.  

And once the finish line of one of the Hervoton orienteering events was in the area of Jämsä-Jukola’s Competition Center. – There is nice terrain on top of the hills, but on the lower levels of the hills it’s a bit worse. I suspect this will be very typical Jukola, summs Salmi who appears to be very focused.

 

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