A handsome haul of medals for Taekwondo athletes from the Norwegian PM competitions

In the PM competitions in Oslo, a tough level in both competition formats

The Nordic championships were hunted in Oslo on January 18. with nearly 500 athletes. The level of competition was tough, and especially in the business series, the series were big. The Finnish representation at the games was strong and so were the Taekwondo athletes. The performances of the athletes were also strong and the team's feeling was high.

Christian and Ville become champions in the business series

The business series competition didn't go completely smoothly in terms of arrangements, but this one didn't Christian's hindered the going. In freestyle, the competition against the Danes was tough, but Christian's performance did not leave anyone cold, and the judges also shared this opinion. The Nordic championship earned as a reward. The championship in the U30 individual series was extremely close as Christian finished second in a tie with Budokwa's Olli Siltanen, who won the series. However, the difference in presentation points turned the advantage to Olli's side. The series became a handsome triple victory for Finland, with Budkowai's Frans Salme grabbing the triple. The same trio also took silver in the U30 group series, so they each made quite a mark in the games. In the O30 series, the champion was declared Ville after high-quality and confident performances. Ville also won the second championship from the O30 group together with Vihti's Jeppe Aukio and Helsinki Taekwondo's Kim Reiman. A top performance from Ville as well.

The performances of the cadets of the trains were also excellent. Alina won a wonderful silver in the U17 freestyle, even though on the morning of the competition day it was still uncertain whether Alina would even be able to compete due to the injury. However, the performance was confident and the vaults and jump kicks were airy. The cadets' individual series were big, but this didn't stop them Alexia advancing all the way to bronze in cadet boys. The difference to second place wasn't big either. Alex reached too The only one with silver in cadet pairs. A familiar trio Bella, Vicky and Sophia also improved their last year's bronze to silver in the cadet girls' groups. The cadet girls' series was big and of a tough standard. Aino made it all the way to the final round, but fell short of the prize places. Luca made the first freestyle race performance of his life without prejudice in a big race in front of a big audience. The performance was great and the tricks were the best in the series, but the satisfaction was in this round instead of fifth.

The general appearance of the business series team was good, and one can especially be satisfied with how the athletes achieved good performances when the race day was delayed and the conditions became more and more uncertain due to equipment failures. A lot of high-level racers were left behind, so we can expect a successful racing season. The main goal of the spring season is the Danish World Championships organized in May for most of the competition team members. The next stage on the way towards this goal is the Joensuu SM competitions at the turn of January and February.

Gold for the match to Iines

On the side of the match, Iines won the brightest medal among the Taekwondo athletes, and even more so overwhelmingly. Iines won his match with clear point differences, and at no point was it unclear who would take the championship from the series. Also Severus was at a high speed when he took the wins in the opening round and in the semar against his Norwegian opponents. The tight twist in the opening lap in particular caused heart palpitations in the stands, but Severi's control of the situation held as well as the lead at the buzzer. In the final, he faced quite a technical genius, who deservedly won the gold. Severi's performances do promise good things going forward.

A boat stylishly cut and stacked his first two opponents to advance to the finals. Unfortunately, at the beginning, a few clear Main Hits were scoreless, and at the end, Venne couldn't really catch up to his match rhythm. Still, silver at the end of a great day. Janika again managed to get into his own rhythm, but still had to bow out in both matches of his pool series. Bring home a bronze.

They worked hard in the trains Plum and Lauri. Plum was able to wrestle even more after moving to the -68kg weight class. The first twist ended with Plum's stylish victory, but in the second the opponent pulled a longer stroke with a few good changes of rhythm. Lauri immediately faced the eventual winner of the series in the opening round and this time he was unable to match the Norwegian's moves. On the other hand, the match left the impression that on a good day the points could turn in Lauri's favor.

The next stage of the match team is also the Joensuu SC competition to be organized in a few weeks. Based on the PM games, the direction is right and you can go to the SM games with an open-minded and winning attitude.

Congratulations to all medalists!

Results of taekwondo athletes

Match:
Iines Korhonen, cadet -44 kg, gold
Venne Viitaniemi, cadet -37 kg, silver
Severi Sarala, senior -74 kg, silver Janika Tatti, cadet -55 kg, bronze
Methasit Kopisto, junior -68 kg, 5. Lauri Hulikka, junior -63 kg, 9.

Business series:
Ville Lehtinen, under 40 years old, gold
Christian Kamphuis, over 17 freestyle, gold
Christian Kamphuis, under 30, silver
Bella Buuri, Victoria Hentunen, Sofia Sarala, girls, cadet groups, silver
Frans Salmi (Budokwai), Olli Siltanen (Budokwai), Christian Kamphuis, under-30 groups
Aino Kortelainen, Alex Jürgens, cadet pairs, silver
Alina Niinivaara, under-17 freestyle, silver
Alex Jürgens, cadets, bronze