Jasmi Joensuu: From the midst of difficulties to a trick

Val di Fiemme

Skitä Tower the previous week Jasmi Joensuu talked for hours on the phone.

It was Christmas, there was family around and important competitions ahead. However, it was bad to be in Joensuu. A recent breakup with a long-term boyfriend hurt a lot.

The starting points for the Tour were not honeymoons. Actually, they were terrible.

Joensuu vented his feelings to his friends and spoke with the doctors of the Ski Association during the Christmas holidays. In those days, it turned out that he has an insane support network around him.

“During the discussion, I kind of realized that nothing like that should ruin my skiing career, because I’ve worked so damn hard for it. In the end, I decided that I had to try and gave every competition a chance.”

It was worth it. Joensuu shot right away in the opening leg of the Tour, in the free sprint in Toblach, to second place. It was his first podium finish in the World Cup.

The upswing continued in the following games. On Wednesday, in the pursuit of the traditional, he skied the best ranking of his mc career on normal distances (8th).

Amidst the disappointments of civilian life, Joensuu is now skiing his best season.

“Of course I’m really surprised, even though I knew I was in good shape.”

Joensuu knows he wouldn’t have been able to do the trick alone.

“When things are going well, there is support for everyone, but as cliche as it sounds, the importance of a support network is measured when it is difficult. I have to praise the Olympic Committee and the Ski Federation, all of this. We are taken damn good care of.”

Joensuu28, has taken an unusual route to the top of the world.

From 2015 to 2019, Joensuu studied at the University of Denver in the United States, where he still skied and trained, but not quite as much as he probably “should” at that age.

We wondered about the solution. Why does a skier known to be promising pressure the Yankees to ruin his career?

However, the time in the USA was a salvation for Joensuu both as an athlete and as a person growing. Studying and like-minded friends provided a counterweight to training, with whom Joensuu had something to think about other than endless skiing.

“Of course, I trained with high quality all that time. The training conditions themselves were so great and we always trained at least 1,600 meters. It certainly made a certain kind of development in the body. Of course, I didn’t think I would be able to rise to this level at the time.”

In addition to the training lessons, he brought home a bachelor’s degree in finance. It brings security to Joensuu after his skiing career.

“The life of a skier is really ascetic, so I certainly would have liked to try something else at some point. In the Yankees, I was able to be at peace and live the life of a young woman like everyone else. That was really important.”

During the four years spent in the United States, Joensuu was also not exposed to external pressure. The fact that he was forgotten in skiing circles and in the media was only a good thing for the mind.

“If I had stayed in Finland and had been successful, for example, in the World Junior Championships, the pressure from the media and others would have been completely different. Fortunately, I was completely spared from it, because I was at a very sensitive age at the time. “

“It has been a surprisingly big thing that is often not even thought about.”

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“Kalmer and I have such a mentality that we try to avoid long training breaks until the very end. We’ll do harder training sessions when I’m in good shape. “

When Joensuu returned to Finland at the age of 23 in 2019, he was a better skier than when he left for the United States.

He had debuted in the World Cup at the age of 17 in 2014.

The next mc representation came five and a half years later, in November 2019. After returning to Finland, Joensuu switched to the Vantaa ski club and got Kalmer Trammin.

Since then, Joensuu’s development has been steady. Sometimes frustratingly even. During the next couple of seasons, he established his level in the sprint stages of the World Cup. The first top 10 ranking came in February 2021.

“In the big picture, I have progressed a lot every year, but the spectators only often see that I finish sixth in the Cup final. After all, this has required patience, especially since I’m quite hasty. But the whole time I’ve believed that the work will produce results at some point.”

The upward development has also been influenced by the fact that Joensuu has avoided serious illnesses and injuries in recent years. He hasn’t had to focus on putting out fires, but training has almost always been constructive

“Kalmer and I have such a mentality that we try to avoid long training breaks until the very end. We’ll do harder training sessions when I’m in good shape. “

“I think our training methods have played a big role in staying healthy.”

Jo for the past couple of years, Joensuu has been one of the world’s best in sprint time trials, but he didn’t want to last until the end of the long sprint days. Joensuu often dominated sections only to find that on the final straight they were being pushed from the right and the left.

At first it happened in the quarter-finals, then in the semi-finals and finally in the final stage. Until it didn’t happen anymore.

This season, Joensuu has finally gotten rid of his “hemming sin”. Now his skiing doesn’t fall apart in the last few hundred meters.

“We’ve done a lot of high-speed training when we’re tired, both on skis and on a roller mat. And of course, it also shows an increase in my basic level. When skiing is easier during the set, then there is energy to make decisions at the end as well.”

Tactical know-how and the self-confidence of downhill skiing accumulate through repetitions. In Joensuu’s opinion, there are two key words in sprint skiing: calmness and feeling of control.

“It’s a fact that we don’t have enough sparring in Finland to get on the podium at the World Cup. It’s just a fact. Of course, the women’s national team has high-quality training, but the most valuable lesson is when you get to ski against people who are tougher than you.”

On sprint days Joensuu differs from many of his other colleagues. It’s pointless to ask him for comments or even a hello between the sprint qualifying and the last ski.

Joensuu paces back and forth between sets with headphones in his ears and ski goggles on his head. The gaze is as if glued to the front slant. To an outsider’s eyes, it seems that there is nothing else in Joensuu’s world at that time but the next batch of skiing.

National team coach Ville Oksanen recognize from the description of Joensuu.

“If you want to say something, you almost have to grab the headphones. You shouldn’t disturb an athlete’s rituals, but I will interrupt Jasmin if I have to give her some clear tactical instructions,” says Oksanen.

Joensuu says that he has changed his sprint day rituals for this season. In the past, he could adjust and bounce around between sets, when he’s energetic, but now he tries to keep the charge on from qualifying to the final.

That’s easier said than done, as sprint days can stretch to five hours. Each batch is very exciting and after the performance, the tension is released. You have to tune in again for the painful downhill skiing – at best or at worst four times.

“Now I’ve realized that between skis you have to find a zen state, so that you can have fun on the slopes all day. I’m in my own bubble. It does work when I forget everything else for the day of the race.”

A sports psychologist has helped with the change Alice Vidjeskiwhich Joensuu acquired for help last August.

“The goal has been that I start to like the feeling of anxiety associated with sprinting,” says Joensuu.

“My opinion is that it is the best thing in the world to do well in sprints. It is as comprehensive an endurance performance as can be. Winning the final requires extreme endurance qualities and extreme mental capabilities.”

This one The winter Tour de Ski has been the best time in Joensuu’s sports life. The button execution has been followed by the next button execution. He hasn’t had to focus on anything other than skiing.

However, the bubble will burst in the coming days. The sun of Central Europe is replaced by muddy Finland, where Joensuu left at the end of December in an oppressive mood.

“Maybe it’s a little scary. But on January 14th, I’m already leaving for the next trip. At home, you can relax for a few days, get your thoughts elsewhere and spend time with your dog. Yes, I will get through this,” he assures

And what’s best for Joensuu, the season isn’t even halfway through yet. He plans to win a medal at the World Ski Championships in Trondheim.

The Tour de Skin men’s combined race 10 km (p) + 10 km (v) will be skied on Saturday at 12 o’clock. The women’s combined race 10 km (p) + 10 km (v) starts at 4:30 p.m. Viplay will show the races live.

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