Samu Könönen, 21, won gold at the World Championships in calisthenics

The sport combines static strength movements and dynamic tricks. A large part is done with a sledge, but support trees are also used.

More than 200 athletes from 52 countries participated in the Games, and there were 20 athletes in Könönen’s series. Könönen was already number one in the qualifying round and held his position until the end.

“It was a good competition, but the athlete lists weren’t published at all, so I didn’t know what kind of lineup there was,” says Könönen.

“The original goal was for 2027 to be the golden year, but apparently it came a year early. In the final, I was the first Finn in the competition to do 720, i.e. two laps in the air.”

In addition to the individual trick, Könönen considers the key to victory to be the fact that he fulfilled the required criteria the best. There were 12 categories in the games, in which a movement had to be performed, and the same movement could not be performed twice.

“The judges said I was throwing smartest athlete in the lineup (the smartest athlete in the bunch).”

Victory did not come easily. The weight limit for the lightweight category is 68 kilograms. Könen’s normal competition weight is 62–63 kilograms, but a couple of weeks before the World Championships, the scales showed 69 kilograms.

“Usually I lose weight for three weeks, but now somehow I didn’t notice until a couple of weeks before the Games.”

“The first meal was always after training, sometimes it wasn’t until ten in the evening. I was able to get going with black coffee and water. But every night I slept at least 8-9 hours.”

In the end, the weight dropped by a good six kilos in a week and a half, and Könen’s competition weight was 62.5 kilos. The power levels remained, and the result was World Championship gold.

After the world championship, the food tasted good.

“There was a burger place next to the competition venue. I ate one with a really good cheeseburger and French fries. It tasted good.”