Comment: Norway’s young biathlon coach is a model — Finland should look to Norway for its next cross-country head coach too

A young Norwegian head coach has exceeded all expectations. Yle Urheilu’s Pekka Holopainen writes that the same country could be the best place to find Finland’s next head coach in cross-country skiing as well.

In Finnish sport, the last time a Norwegian head coach was hired to a major role was in spring 2006, a landmark move when 42‑year‑old Magnar Dalen — former Sweden head coach and Norway service boss — took charge of Finland’s cross-country team. Under Dalen, the A‑team won 23 championship medals over eight years. It was not a love affair, but the results spoke for themselves.

By contrast, the fanfare was far more muted in spring 2022 when Biathlon Federation chair Kalle Lähdesmäki announced his catch: 27‑year‑old Erik Bartlett Kulstad (now Erik Torneus Kulstad) as the new head coach of a struggling Finnish biathlon program. His international experience came mainly from China, working as an assistant to legend Ole Einar Björndalen. You had to be a biathlon diehard to know his name before Lähdesmäki’s forward‑thinking move.

After Kaisa Mäkäräinen’s retirement, Finnish biathlon lost much of its borrowed spotlight, and expectations for Kulstad were modest. Three and a half years later, the doomsayers are silent. The determined Norwegian has overseen a collective level jump that is rare in Finnish elite sport in the modern anti‑doping era. Athletes such as Suvi Minkkinen, Sonja Leinamo, Otto Invenius, Tero Seppälä and Olli Hiidensalo have delivered regular or at least intermittent breakthroughs — highlighted by Minkkinen’s World Championship bronze and Leinamo’s shock second place in the 15 km individual in Östersund.

Kulstad’s contract ends after this season, though constructive talks about an extension are ongoing. Unsurprisingly, his work has been noticed in wealthier biathlon nations, and Norway’s own staff will also change after the season.

In the neighboring discipline of cross-country skiing, Finland’s head coach will definitely change. Teemu Pasanen’s six‑year stint as head coach — and a decade in the national team staff — will end. Krista Pärmäkoski has already announced her retirement, and it would not be a surprise if veterans Kerttu Niskanen, Ristomatti Hakola and Perttu Hyvärinen follow. Even Jasmi Joensuu has publicly floated the idea of stopping. A major reset and rebuild beckon, with Lahti 2029 approaching quickly. Beyond Iivo Niskanen, few core athletes are certain to continue that far.

High‑performance director Petter Kukkonen says there is domestic interest in the cross-country head coach job and that the search is open equally to Finnish and foreign candidates. Of the current staff, Ville Oksanen is the only realistic internal name; Dr. Olli Ohtonen is not interested.

Given how a previously unknown, very young Norwegian coach transformed Finnish biathlon, it doesn’t take an expert to see where Finland should look first — proactively and immediately — for Pasanen’s successor: Norway.