Athlete

Although I started track and field at the age of six only as a hobby, when I got my first (and only) stress fracture around the age of 15 and had to sit out and only do rehab, I realized how big place it holds in my life. I chose hammer throw as my specialty and decided that I want to see my full potential and be one of the best throwers in the world.

I chose to go to a sports high school to a neighboring town and move away from home to be able to practice on the same campus where I went to school. Kuortane's Olympic Training Center provided a perfect environment for a young woman to gain independence. After my first year in high school, I won silver in U18 Europeans which really made me understand that I may be able to get somewhere with this sport.

The next years were hard but I was still able to compete in international championships and represent Finland. After graduating from high school and hopping into the NCAA system, things got even more serious than ever before. Feeling the pressure was completely different: now there was the entire team I wanted to perform for, not only me or my coach. With a great sports psychologist, I was able to gain confidence, and I became a multiple-time All-American, placed an all-time conference record in ACC, and placed fourth in the NCAA on my best year.

The biggest takeaway from being an athlete is the obvious: hard work. However, I've found out that hard work has many many layers. There are long and short-term goal-setting, focusing on one technical detail at a time, managing emotions, and giving my absolute everything to the practice, throw, or moment. I have realized that I truly enjoy a challenge and struggle a little. I don't move on to the next task if I haven't mastered or at least reached a certain level with the task I am currently doing and I am always, ALWAYS, reaching excellence.