Pia Pekonen shatters Finnish cross-country team’s glass ceiling — why did it take until 2025?

A roll call of Finnish women’s greats — Marjatta Kajosmaa, Helena Takalo, Hilkka Riihivuori, Marja‑Liisa Kirvesniemi, Marjo Matikainen‑Kallström, Virpi Sarasvuo, Aino‑Kaisa Saarinen and Krista Pärmäkoski — frames the paradox: between 1970 and 2025, Finland won 140 World Championship or Olympic medals in cross‑country skiing, 81 of them by women, yet the national team never had a female coach.

That changed in 2025. When Reijo Jylhä unexpectedly returned to the A‑team last spring with a 70% workload, he invited Pia Pekonen, 44, to join the women’s coaching setup. Pekonen accepted quickly and, remarkably, became the first female coach in the national team’s century‑plus history — an oddity given the sport’s results.

Pekonen, who works at the Finnish Olympic Committee as a coaching specialist, will devote about one‑third of her time to the national team alongside Jylhä. The Olympic Committee and the Ski Association agreed on the arrangement, underscoring the sport’s importance ahead of Milan‑Cortina 2026. She has already spent roughly 40 camp days with the team and is slated to be part of Finland’s Olympic delegation.

Her pathway: early Ski Association coaching education, applied university‑level coaching studies, and further studies in leadership and pedagogy. “I’ve coached at almost every level from grassroots up to the junior national team,” she says.

Ski Association chair Sirpa Korkatti — the federation’s first female chair since 2023 — welcomes the hire as symbolically vital, noting the flood of positive feedback from within skiing and other sports. Jylhä, now in his third spell in a leading A‑team role (head coach 2001–06 and 2014–18), points out that prominent ex‑athletes like Virpi Sarasvuo and Pirjo Muranen have completed coaching qualifications; opportunities and personal motives have been limiting factors rather than capability. He also stresses that women have long held key support roles — for example physician Maarit Valtonen, psychologist Hannaleena Ronkainen, and ski tester Kati Venäläinen.

Jylhä praises Pekonen’s impact: she brings a strong professional background, proposes and defends new ideas, and broadens staff perspectives. He would strongly support her if she applies for the women’s team coach position that opens after this season.

Pekonen acknowledges the appeal of a larger role. The travel load can reach 160–180 days annually, which can be especially challenging for parents. Krista Pärmäkoski argues childcare should be equally shared and notes that breastfeeding periods can complicate coaching travel.

While Pekonen is a first in Finnish cross‑country, she is not unprecedented across Finnish skiing or the Nordic region. Sanna‑Leena Perunka coached Finland’s biathlon A‑team, and Johanna Tikkanen became Finland’s first female national‑team head coach in a ski discipline when she took over alpine skiing in 2024. Internationally, Sweden employs Olympic champion Ida Ingemarsdotter, and Norway has all‑time great Marit Bjørgen on staff.

Johanna Matintalo calls Pekonen a trailblazer, recalling first meeting her in 2013 when Pekonen led Finland’s junior team at the Nordic Junior Championships in Trondheim. Pekonen herself is optimistic: she may be the first female coach in Finland’s cross‑country A‑team, but she is convinced she won’t be the last.