Helsingin Suunnistajat were the best Finnish team in the Jukola Relay, finishing third and equalling the club’s best result in history.
The team’s opening leg was run by Mathias Peter, who admitted to being nervous before the start. Competing in Jukola for the first time since 2017, Peter brought his team to the first exchange in 23rd place.
“I found a good flow after the first control. There’s always room for improvement, but I’m quite satisfied with my performance,” Peter said at the press conference.
Jussi Raasakka, who ran the second leg for Helsingin Suunnistajat, was pleased with his performance. He mentioned making a couple of poor route choices early on but otherwise had no major issues and described his leg as clean.
Topi Syrjäläinen, the older of the Syrjäläinen brothers and running the third leg on home terrain, said his leg went according to plan and that he was happy with his run. He acknowledged a slight home-field advantage, even though the terrain in Tikkala was largely unfamiliar.
Mathieu Perrin, who ran the fourth leg, navigated mostly alone. He found the terrain fast and expressed pride in his team’s performance.
Arttu Syrjäläinen, also benefiting from home terrain, was likewise satisfied with the team’s result, noting that third place is always a strong finish in such a tight competition. He described the course as technically very demanding.
“A textbook run,” Syrjäläinen summarized at the press conference.
Tuomas Heikkilä, who ran the sixth leg, admitted to moments of frustration in the heavy terrain, which managed to surprise him despite prior information. However, Heikkilä completed his leg without mistakes.
“All in all, a pretty nice journey,” Heikkilä concluded.
The anchor leg was run by Olli Ojanaho, who succeeded with his route choices. He started the final leg practically side by side with NTNUI’s Eirik Langedal Breivik.
“I got a really good starting position. On the first forking, I lost a bit but managed to hold the gap. On the next forkings, I lost quite a lot more,” Ojanaho recounted.
During his leg, Ojanaho managed to pull away from OK Ravinen’s Gustav Bergman, and the Swedish team eventually finished about a minute behind.
Ojanaho noted that the season had many positives and that the team has great potential. The Helsinki-based club is hoping for a Finnish victory next year after a long dry spell—the last Finnish team to win Jukola was KooVee in 2018.
Text: Onni Pänkäläinen
Photo: Sari Ursin
Translation: Mariya Loginova