Illness wave hits Finland’s biathlon team before Hochfilzen World Cup

Finland’s biathlon team has been struck by an illness wave just before the World Cup stop in Hochfilzen, Austria, forcing several late roster adjustments.

According to the Finnish federation on Instagram, the following athletes are no longer on the roster for Hochfilzen: - Women: Noora Kaisa Keränen - Men: Kalle Loukkaanhuhta and Turkka Nieminen

Women’s replacements: The federation will not name additional women to the squad. Finland will start with Suvi Minkkinen, Sonja Leinamo, Venla Lehtonen and Inka Hämäläinen in Hochfilzen.

Men’s call-ups: Arttu Heikkinen and Jimi Klemettinen are promoted from the IBU Cup to join Olli Hiidensalo, Tero Seppälä and Tuomas Harjula on the men’s World Cup team.

The federation noted that illness cases are common early in the season and emphasized that clear internal protocols guide such situations. They added that Finland will field a “competitive and healthy team” in Hochfilzen.

Form update: Despite the withdrawals, Finland’s outlook remains positive. Sonja Leinamo opened the season strongly with second place in the individual at the Östersund opener. Suvi Minkkinen won the sprint and finished second in the pursuit there, taking over the women’s overall World Cup lead, underscoring the team’s competitiveness heading into Hochfilzen.