Swedish team Stora Tuna, which has dominated the Jukola relay since 2019, continued its winning streak by claiming its sixth consecutive victory in the Jukola relay. The competition was held in Tikkala, Mikkeli.
Stora Tuna raced with the same team as last year: Olle Kalered, Joakim Svensk, Jesper Svensk, Ville Johansson, Henrik Johannesson, Viktor Svensk and Emil Svensk.
Stora Tuna in the lead from the start
The terrain in Tikkala proved challenging right from the first leg. One of the favourites, OK Linné (SE), had to withdraw and the leg times took more than 20 minutes longer than planned. At the end of the first leg, Stora Tuna took the lead alongside Norwegian student team NTNUI.
Of the Finnish teams, Jämsän Retki-Veikot came in tenth, exactly one minute behind NTNUI. Tampereen Pyrintö (FI) was in 15th place (+3.14) and Helsingin Suunnistajat (FI) in 23rd (+3.59).
In the second leg, Swiss national team orienteer Matthias Kyburz made a strong run and lifted his team, Norwegian IL Tyrving, to the top with a lead of almost three minutes over NTNUI and Stora Tuna.
Tampereen Pyrintö rose to 5th place and Helsingin Suunnistajat to 19th place.
A long night with Svenskin leading the way
The long night demonstrated the strength of Stora Tuna’s Jesper Svenskin. He lifted his team back to the top and increased the gap to almost five minutes. NTNUI and Koovee (FI), which had been lifted to third place by Timo Sildin, set off in pursuit in the fourth leg. Tampereen Pyrintö (FI) moved up to sixth place and Valkeakosken Haka (FI) Aaro Aho, who had run a superb race, was in eighth place.
Topi Syrjäläinen, originally from Mikkeli, showed that he was in control of the terrain by lifting Helsingin Suunnistajat (FI) to ninth place.
In the fourth leg, NTNUI’s Mats Eidsmo narrowed the gap to Stora Tuna slightly. Otto Simosas also improved Tampereen Pyrintö’s position, lifting the team to fourth place. However, the gap to the leaders grew to over six minutes. Other Finnish teams competing for the top spots included Koovee, Helsingin Suunnistajat, Kalevan Rasti and Valkeakosken Haka.
Stora Tuna continued their strong run
In the fifth leg, the lead remained unchanged, with Stora Tuna’s Henrik Johannesson handed over to the sixth leg runner Viktor Svenskin by more than five minutes ahead of NTUI’s Isak Jonsson. Helsingin Suunnistajat was lifted to fouth place by Mikkeli-born Arttu Syrjäläinen.
In the sixth leg, Stora Tuna OK continued their dominance. Tuomas Heikkilä put in a solid performance and lifted his team Helsingin Suunnistajat to second place alongside NTNUI in the final stretch. However, they were still more than seven minutes behind the leader.
Elias Kuukka of Tampereen Pyrintö also did a great job in the tough terrain and lifted his team to fourth place in the competition.
The anchor leg shook up the rankings
In the anchor leg, Emil Svensk made up for the spring defeat to NTNUI in the 10mila relay by bringing his team safely home to victory in the Jukola relay ahead of the Norwegians. The victory was Stora Tuna’s sixth in a row, and Britney Spears‘ ‘Oops!…I Did It Again’ was aptly played at the finish line.
– Every victory is different. It’s great to win with this team. The terrain was tough, but I had fun out there. There were no major mistakes, Emil Svensk summed up after the race.
NTNUI’s Eirik Langedal Breivik showed his strength, but his sprint was not enough to catch Svenskin this time. The team finished second, 8.14 behind the winner.
From a Finnish perspective, the excitement was heightened by OK Raven’s Gustav Bergman, who kept up a fast pace from the start and caught up with Helsingin Suunnistajat towards the end. However, Helsingin Suunnistajat finished third, 16.22 behind the winner.
– We weren’t at our best today, and the gap to the top is so big that we can only admire Stora Tuna. My legs were a little tired and my pace was a bit rough. I just tried to keep a steady pace and navigate well, Olli Ojanaho reflected on his performance.
Helsingin Suunnistajat was represented by Mathias Peter, Jussi Raasakka, Topi Syrjäläinen, Mathieu Perrin, Arttu Syrjäläinen, Tuomas Heikkilä and Olli Ojanaho.
Tampereen Pyrintö was the second best Finnish team, finishing sixth overall.
The difficult terrain made the race longer than expected
The difficulty of the terrain and the course was evident in the fact that the relay took almost an hour longer than the course setter’s ideal time. The night sections were particularly long. Although modern headlamps are good, they are of little help when the spruce forest is dense and lush.
– You could say that the darkness of the night took the course setter by surprise. The first leg was almost 20 minutes behind the schedule. The courses were shortened from the initial plans, but the runners still did not manage to reach the predicted speed, admitted course setter Olli-Markus Taivainen.
Kalevan Rasti (FI) has won the Jukola relay six times in the past. Ahead of them in terms of number of wins are the Norwegian club Halden SK, with seven wins, and Helsingin Suunnistajat, which dominated the Jukola relay in its early years with eight wins.
Text: Paula Lehtomäki
Photo: Samu Romo
Translation: Irma Gynther-Karppinen