Suvi Minkkinen is no longer the underdog in biathlon. After a breakthrough season filled with podium finishes and personal milestones, she now leads the national team into the Olympic winter—with confidence, clarity, and a plan that’s already been tested at altitude.

Battle-tested plans for the training season

Last season, Suvi Minkkinen surprised not only the home crowd but herself as she took third place in Kontiolahti. This was just the first of her many podiums last season, including bronze in the World Championships and a win in the single mixed relay in the Oberhof World Cup. Now she is heading to the Olympic season with more knowledge of what works.

”It took me quite a while to get used to the level I was competing in. In Oberhof, I was so surprised that even with one miss, I can be in the flower ceremony. This gave me confidence that what I do works.”

After spending three months training at altitude ahead of season 24/25, Suvi noticed that the plan worked. This is why there was a confidence to do it all over again this summer, as the Olympic Winter Games will also be held at a high altitude of 1600 meters above sea level.

”I don’t need to please anyone”

When you reach the level of success that Minkkinen has, it can easily get into your head. The Finnish biathlon fans have been hungry for success after Kaisa Makarainen retired, and now all eyes are on Suvi.

”I’ve always wanted to race in a way that I would be satisfied after the competition. Even though my name was higher on the result list last season than before, I still managed to hold on to this mindset. I don’t need to please anyone as long as I can say after the competition that I did the race I wanted.”

Minkkinen goes on to say that the thought is that a few more sports fans will be disappointed if she doesn’t perform as well as before. So far, she has not taken pressure from this but says that heading to the new season might be a bit trickier. ”However, so far I am just doing my thing, and then we'll see how it turns out.”

An Olympics at altitude

Last season, there was one weekend where Minkkinen didn’t get any World Cup points - in Antholz, where the Winter Olympics will be held. ”Sometimes the thought comes to me, that is, Antholz really difficult venue for me. But I have also spent lots of time training there during my whole career. Taking this into consideration, I sometimes think it is two different locations for me.”

”Whether you go there a few days before the World Cup with time to adjust to the altitude, or take the time to get used to it. For the Olympics, we have a plan for adjusting, and this makes me think of it differently”, Minkkinen says.

A proof of this could be seen in the Italian Summer Championships at the end of August, where the Finnish biathlon team competed. Suvi came third in the sprint and second in pursuit.

”Of course Olympics have a mental side as well, and you want to perform at your best level there. But I have no fear from last season. It was a hard weekend, and I got over it.”

The Finnish team is ready to attack

Even though Suvi Minkkinen is only 30 years old, she can be considered a veteran in the young team. ”I have noticed that the leading position of the women’s team has come to me. It is a natural transition because I remember when I entered the team myself, it was always Kaisa and Mari Eder who told me how things are done. And now I’ve heard from the younger girls that I have been able to give them advice. That’s nice!”

The Finnish biathlon team also spent some time training with the USA national team this summer in Livigno. ”This was a new experience for the team with both the location, and we did a lot of the work together with the USA. This was a good learning experience for us to cooperate with a team as much as we did,” says the head coach Erik Kulstad.

With lots of training and races in Antholz, Kulstad feels ready to head on to the winter season with the Olympics in mind.

”We think that we see that the good experiences from last winter have created fire in the group, and with another year of solid work, we wish to keep climbing. The differences in the WC are getting tighter and tighter each year, so nothing comes for free. If we have been good enough with the attention to details, we can compete at a higher level. And I think the work that is being done is competitive at the moment,” he summarises.

Photos: Authamayou/Nordicfocus, Manzoni/Nordicfocus, IBU Photopool