Kirsi Välimaa won her first ever Finnish Championships title in Vuokatti on
Saturday on 5 km classic. Välimaa beat Riitta-Liisa Lassila by 13,4 seconds.
Marjo Korander took the surprise-bronze and won her first individual medal in
Finnish Championships.
Virpi Kuitunen didn’t race on Satuday due to flu but she will compete on Sunday
on 30 km free technique race.
Some quotes from the best 3:
Välimaa: â€I had four bronzes and two silvers before, so the aim was to get a
gold medal as well. Now I did it in the end of the season and this means a lot
to me. I had high expectations for this race, because I was skiing well on
classic in the past weeks so my goal was to win today.â€
Lassila: “This was my first Finnish Championships medal on classical technique
and this feels just as great as the championships on 10 km free technique
earlier this season. For me I wished there had been more uphills on the
course.â€
Korander: â€I expected more from tomorrow’s 30 k race. This was the first
Finnish
Championships this winter where I have been able to prepared as a healthy
skier.
Yesterday, when I heard Virpi (Kuitunen) is not racing, I thought I may have
chances for a medal, especially when my classical technique skiing started to
go
well in the end of season.
