PM Championships 2024

The Nordic Championships 2024 took place on January 27-28, 2024 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Saturday was Match Day and on Sunday it was Pooms' turn, TU11 was only represented on Sunday. Finland was chosen as both the best team and the best country of the Games, and the TU11 team did not miss out on the success.

In the junior series, the reigning EC bronze trio Aino Kortelainen, Sofia Sarala and Airada Heikkinen (Kuopio Taekwondo) took the championship with confident performances. In the junior pairs, Sofia Sarala and Lassi Kaasinen (Herttoniemi Taekwondo), on the other hand, made their way to the finals of the hard-level series, where they finally took silver.

Alex Jürgens competed for the first time in the U30 series, leaving the junior series behind, progressing with good performances to the final, where he eventually finished 6th. Alex also competed in the Team Male U30 series with Frans Salme (Budokwai Taekwondo) and the Swedish Vincent Saigne (Mudo Academy). They grabbed the highest spot on the podium and the championship. Alex's series trio was completed by a doubles series with Linda Räkköläinen (Hipko) when they finished 6th. Alex took over the new series nicely and the future prospects for the under-thirties look bright!

In the U40 Female series, Laura Kinnunen was the first among 9 competitors to reach the final with very confident performances. In the final, he finally reached the silver medal, a hard-level Norwegian by the time of the championship. Laura also competed in the Team Female O30 series with Laura Wild (Mudokwan Vantaa) and Miia Siutila (Budokwai Taekwondo), taking the championship in the series. Like Alex, Laura also competed in a total of three series. In the Pair O30 series with Ville Lehtinen, the result was a nice PM silver, with a very small point difference to Laura's teammate Laura Wild and her pair Tatu Iivanainen (Mudokwan Vantaa), who got on the highest podium in the series. So a very nice overall balance for Laura: the first Nordic championship and two PM silvers.

The U60 Female series also saw a series change, when Kirsimarja Raitasalo competed in this series for the first time. Marita Jaakkola, as the more experienced conker of the series, took the silver nicely, while Kirsimarja got the bronze. So medals for both TU11 members in the series! Marita and Kirsimarja competed with the series winner Niina Virtala (Mansen Taekwondo) also in the previously mentioned Team Female O30 series, which resulted in a nice bronze medal.

In addition to the doubles series, Ville also competed in the Team Male O30 series with a familiar group that also won EC bronze, namely Jeppe Aukio (Vihdin Taekwondo) and Tatu Iivanainen (Mudokwan Vantaa). The result is also a gold medal for them and one more championship for TU11. In total, TU11 won four Nordic championships and a big pile of other medals! Thus, from the coach's point of view, the result is absolutely amazing and an excellent start to the new season 2024, where the next goal is the championship competitions in Jyväskylä on March 9.

TU11 results:

U30 Male:
 Alex 6.
U40 Women:
 Laura 2.
U60 Female:
 Marita 2.
 Cherry berry 4.
Junior Pair:
 Sofia & Lassi Kaasinen (Herttoniemi) 2.
Pair U30:
 Alex & Linda Räkköläinen (Hipko): 6.
Pair O30:
 Ville & Laura 2.
Junior Team Female:
 Aino, Sofia & Airada Heikkinen (Kuopio) 1.
Team Male U30:
 Alex, Frans Salmi (Budokwai) & Vincent Saigne (Mudo Academy) 1.
Team Male O30:
 Ville, Jeppe Aukio (Vihti) & Tatu Iivanainen (Mudokwan Vantaa): 1.
Team Female O30:
 Laura, Miia Siutila (Budokwai) & Laura Wild (Mudokwan Vantaa): 1.
 Marita, Kirsimarja & Niina Virtala (Manse) 3.

The Nordic Championships 2024 took place on January 27-28, 2024 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Saturday was Match Day and on Sunday it was Pooms' turn, TU11 was only represented on Sunday. Finland was chosen as both the best team and the best country of the Games, and the TU11 team did not miss out on the success.

In the junior series, the reigning EC bronze trio Aino Kortelainen, Sofia Sarala and Airada Heikkinen (Kuopio Taekwondo) took the championship with confident performances. In the junior pairs, Sofia Sarala and Lassi Kaasinen (Herttoniemi Taekwondo), on the other hand, made their way to the finals of the hard-level series, where they finally took silver.

Alex Jürgens competed for the first time in the U30 series, leaving the junior series behind, progressing with good performances to the final, where he eventually finished 6th. Alex also competed in the Team Male U30 series with Frans Salme (Budokwai Taekwondo) and the Swedish Vincent Saigne (Mudo Academy). They grabbed the highest spot on the podium and the championship. Alex's series trio was completed by a doubles series with Linda Räkköläinen (Hipko) when they finished 6th. Alex took over the new series nicely and the future prospects for the under-thirties look bright!

In the U40 Female series, Laura Kinnunen was the first among 9 competitors to reach the final with very confident performances. In the final, he finally reached the silver medal, a hard-level Norwegian by the time of the championship. Laura also competed in the Team Female O30 series with Laura Wild (Mudokwan Vantaa) and Miia Siutila (Budokwai Taekwondo), taking the championship in the series. Like Alex, Laura also competed in a total of three series. In the Pair O30 series with Ville Lehtinen, the result was a nice PM silver, with a very small point difference to Laura's teammate Laura Wild and her pair Tatu Iivanainen (Mudokwan Vantaa), who got on the highest podium in the series. So a very nice overall balance for Laura: the first Nordic championship and two PM silvers.

The U60 Female series also saw a series change, when Kirsimarja Raitasalo competed in this series for the first time. Marita Jaakkola, as the more experienced conker of the series, took the silver nicely, while Kirsimarja got the bronze. So medals for both TU11 members in the series! Marita and Kirsimarja competed with the series winner Niina Virtala (Mansen Taekwondo) also in the previously mentioned Team Female O30 series, which resulted in a nice bronze medal.

In addition to the doubles series, Ville also competed in the Team Male O30 series with a familiar group that also won EC bronze, namely Jeppe Aukio (Vihdin Taekwondo) and Tatu Iivanainen (Mudokwan Vantaa). The result is also a gold medal for them and one more championship for TU11. In total, TU11 won four Nordic championships and a big pile of other medals! Thus, from the coach's point of view, the result is absolutely amazing and an excellent start to the new season 2024, where the next goal is the championship competitions in Jyväskylä on March 9.

TU11 results:

U30 Male:
 Alex 6.
U40 Women:
 Laura 2.
U60 Female:
 Marita 2.
 Cherry berry 4.
Junior Pair:
 Sofia & Lassi Kaasinen (Herttoniemi) 2.
Pair U30:
 Alex & Linda Räkköläinen (Hipko): 6.
Pair O30:
 Ville & Laura 2.
Junior Team Female:
 Aino, Sofia & Airada Heikkinen (Kuopio) 1.
Team Male U30:
 Alex, Frans Salmi (Budokwai) & Vincent Saigne (Mudo Academy) 1.
Team Male O30:
 Ville, Jeppe Aukio (Vihti) & Tatu Iivanainen (Mudokwan Vantaa): 1.
Team Female O30:
 Laura, Miia Siutila (Budokwai) & Laura Wild (Mudokwan Vantaa): 1.
 Marita, Kirsimarja & Niina Virtala (Manse) 3.