My Monday Routine with Suvi Minkkinen
It took Suvi Minkkinen 10 years to find success in biathlon, but the past two seasons have found the Finn consistently battling for the podium and becoming a poster child for later-in-life perseverance.
Before the 2024/25 season, Suvi Minkkinen’s only brush with the podium in IBU Cup or World Cup competitions was third in the 2024 Oslo Single Mixed Relay. Beyond that, podiums were a dream. In 2024/25, after a summer at altitude, everything changed with third in her home Kontiolahti Sprint. Since then, brilliant shooting and strong skiing have brought IBU WCH and Olympic medals, ten individual podiums and fifth in the World Cup Total Score.
With summer training winding down, Minkkinen talked about her Monday routine, fears and training philosophy.
Biathlonworld: What time do you wake up on Monday and what is the first thing you do after waking up?
Suvi Minkkinen: In the past few years, I have become a morning person. I was not that before, but now I wake up around 6:30 or 7 o’clock. The first thing I do is make coffee; with a little bit of milk!
BW: What is the first app you look at when you turn on your phone?
SM: It is still Instagram. I hoped to answer differently but I cannot get out of that habit!
BW: What do you do in the morning to prepare for the day, a little yoga or stretching or a run?
SM: I do a little bit of stretching if I need to do shooting first thing. I think maybe it is because I am getting older and can’t get in those positions so easily.
BW: Do you consider yourself a perfectionist when it comes to training?
SM: A little bit yes; I think I demand quite a lot from myself. I just try to be focused and do the best work for that day then I am happy after training. I get upset if I feel my focus shifted and get frustrated with myself. But I try to give myself some space because I know that every training can be perfect.
BW: Are you fearless and if not, what scares you?
SM: I think I am quite good at overthinking and creating different scenarios in my head. A good example is a couple of days ago we had a long hike. The top of the mountain was a little difficult to walk with some rocks. I had many scenarios in my head like if I took a wrong step the wrong way and I would start to go down. These kind of things I am scared of and am very good at creating scenarios that will go wrong!
BW: When the day is over, what do you do to wind down?
SM: Sometimes reading books, sometimes watching television or Netflix. Right now, I am watching The Blacklist for the second time! In training season, it is so late when I finish that it is showering, dinner and not much time for anything special.
BW: What piece of advice guides you every day?
SM: I try to be better than I was before. In the big picture like with season goals, I try to be better than last season, and day-by-day I try to do my best and be a little bit better in some different aspect. Of course, you cannot be better every day with everything, but if I can improve something little. That is what I try to do.
BW: What is the hardest part of being a professional biathlete?
SM: I think it is knowing your limits and making wise choices. This thought that when you feel like stopping but you need to push harder. Like many high level athletes, the mental strength we have is at a quite high level, so it is not about how hard we can push. We can push ourselves quite hard, so when to know when to push more or time to rest. That is where it is good to have person like my personal coach there. I will check and say, ‘Am I supposed to be this tired now?’ He says, ‘Yes you are.’ Then I am good. If he says no, then we need to check to see if everything is going right. We have a lot of discussions about the training load level!
BW: What did the Olympics this year teach you?
SM: I knew that you can do the perfect race and still there will be girls ahead of me. After the sprint where I was sixth, zero-zero; maybe the skiing speed was slowing at the end of the last loop, but it was still a great race for me but not enough for a medal. It confirmed that you can do really well, but you are competing against high-level athletes, so it also depends on them. So you need to do your best and see at the end. It confirmed that thought and the fact that it is all about the medals. In the public’s eyes, you get the medal or you don’t. But I try to handle it so that if I do a good race, I am happy.
BW: What is the biggest challenge you have overcome as an athlete?
SM: In the 2021/22 season, I had a good training summer and got COVID. I struggled a lot all season despite having great expectations for the Olympics. Not medals but maybe something good. It proved that you can have a great training season, make wise choices but on top of that you always need a little bit of luck to stay healthy. That is what is a hard part of being an athlete. It is not always in your hands.
BW: What is your biggest food indulgence, something you cannot live without?
SM: It is something sweet but I cannot decide with so many choices, but I will say chocolate.
BW: You spend a lot of time at altitude; what is your favourite place in the thin air and why?
SM: It is Bessans where I am now and have been since the beginning of July. It is a small place; the simple life. It is a good place for uphill rollerskiing, hiking, biking running, and biathlon on the rollerski tracks. I like the simplicity of the place; it is kind of a Finnish thing.
Another altitude summer in the books; expect Suvi to be ready for more big moments in the new season.
Photos: IBU/ Danielsson, Wizor, Nordic Focus
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