Kerttu Niskanen’s overwhelming championship gold

Ski season culminating in the intermediate starts of traditional long distances in Rovaniemi on Sunday.

In the women’s 30 km race, there was no doubt about the winner at any point. The number one favorite of the race Kerttu Niskanen skied to the SM gold with deafening superiority.

Vieremän Koito’s star skier ran away from the others in the first intermediate points. In the end, the difference at the finish to the silver woman Johanna to Matintalo was two minutes and six seconds.

took the SM bronze Jasmi Joensuu (+2.53,8). The differences were huge, as the fourth place finisher Krista Pärmäkoski on the other hand, was a good five minutes behind the leader.

It was the 14th individual Finnish championship of Niskanen’s, 35, career.

Usually the season-ending spring championships are used to being held in nice spring conditions, but this time Rovaniemi had no idea of ​​such a thing.

The temperature was firmly on the freezing side, and a little before the start of the race it also started to snow. As the race progressed, it got so thick that even talking about a snowstorm is not an exaggeration.

The tracks were blocked by rain, and the race was slow in the otherwise heavy terrain.

Niskanen’s winning time was 1:32:27.4. Two years ago, in the 30 km (p) WC race also held in Rovaniemi, Niskanen’s gold time was almost eight minutes faster (1.24.40).

In the end, only 33 women finished the race. Four stopped along the way, and 20 registered skiers didn’t even show up at the starting point.

The men’s 50 km (p) race starts at 1 p.m.