Falko Krismayr to reinforce Finnish coaching staff

Nordic Combined Team Finland has recruited a new Ski Jumping coach, Austrian Falko Krismayr who will join the team immediately and participate in the training camp in Lahti from February 6th to 10th.

The Finnish national team in Nordic Combined has continuously been the strongest on the cross-country track during the FIS World Cup. The fight for the good results in single World Cup events has been hindered by the team's ski jumping performance. It has been tried to implement changes in ski jumping technique but the current coaching team has not found a solution to the challenges.

”Despite the good results of Ilkka Herola, the rest of the athletes have not been able to internalise my methods and thoughts in ski jumping. I hope, that Falko can give us additional metres on the hill and the guys are open to his new thoughts in coaching. It’s great thing, that Falko has the time to join us now”, says ski jumping coach Jarkko Saapunki, whose agreement will end after current season.

Saapunki will continue as the personal coach for Ilkka Herola. He will also be responsible for the orientation of Krismayr in the team.

Petter Kukkonen, Head Coach of the Finnish National Team, was ready to make the change now, despite, that season is already midway, as there was a need to react to the lack of success. The process of finding a solution for the challenges in coaching were supported by Finnish Ski Association and National Olympic Committee.

”We wanted to react to the situation now, even though we are in the middle of the season. Waiting until the season ends would not be a good option. We saw that every single day is important for the athletes and as soon as we can turn the direction, the more likely our team will gain success during the next seasons. Jarkko has worked hard for our team but now something had to be done”, says Kukkonen, who adds, that the decision has been made in common understanding. 
 
Krismayr emphasizes life-long-learning, the athlete is the key for the change

Austrian, Falko Krismayr, 40, is a former ski jumper and has worked in personal well-being, trade and network-marketing during the past years. As a ski jumping coach. Krismayr has worked from ski club to national team levels. His latest position as the ski jumping coach was on the Austrian Nordic Combined Team from 2009–2015. His team has achieved three Olympic and seven World Championships medals.

At first, Krismayr did not have thoughts to make a come-back as a coach. But, knowing the potential of young Finnish team, and he changed his mind. ”I had time to build up my own lifecoaching and network-marketing business since 2015, so I didn’t think about coming back for coaching. After discussions with Petter and understanding the team's potential for success, I thought - Let’s just do it!”, says Krismayr, who discribes himself as a sportsman and coach with heart and soul.

As a coach, Falko Krismayr believes in life-long learning and wants to develop himself as human. ”If you can change, the environment changes along. The change in the team needs time and a plan: during the spring we will create a strategy towards the next season. But of course we want to be on the podium already at the Lahti Ski Games, it’s totally possible”, continues Krismayr.

Falko Krismayr is set to join the team in Lahti on the 6th of February, when the team will begn their next training camp. During the rest of the season, Krismayr will be on-site in Trondheim and at the Lahti World Cup events.