Similä won his first title in Finnish Championships

Tero Similä won his first Finnish Championship title on 10 km classical in
Vuokatti on Saturday. Jari Isometsä finished 7 seconds behind the winner and
Valeri Rodokhlebov took home the bronze medal. From national A-team racers Sami
Jauhojärvi end up disappointing to 41. place, Matti Heikkinen did slightly
better with 27th place.

Some quotes from best 3 athlete:

Similä: “The first Finnish Championships title is a great thing and I will
always remember this. It was a constant good race, even though the end was a
tough one. I have been able to keep my shape, or at least the shape hasn’t
worsened as much as others’. I have actually trained as well in order trying to
aim for this event.”

Isometsä: “I would have predicted the medal, my self confidence as I packed dry
shirt for press conference visit as well. I was aiming for gold, but as my
season has been shit I am satisfied with silver as well. It is possible these
were my last Finnish Championships, but it is possible as well that these were
not my last ones. I still haven’t made the final decision if I retire or
continue one more year.”

Rodokhlebov: ”I was suprised I was able to win a medal. My season has been 100
percent great. Now I need to find a sponsor so I can get some training camps in
high altitude for Olympic year.”