WHILE KATIE TAYLOR and Irish sports fans struggle to come to terms with her shock exit in Rio, it seems the Finns weren’t entirely surprised to see Mira Potkonen dethrone the reigning Olympic champion.
The42‘s busy man on the ground in Rio, Niall Kelly, caught up after the fight with Esa Lilja, a journalist with Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
Lilja had been impressed by Potkonen in her opening bout and felt that she had a chance against Taylor despite the Bray woman’s fearsome reputation.
“They [Potkonen and her coach] were very confident before the match,” Lilja explained.
“Mira had a very, very good start here. She won [against] the Brazilian athlete who took bronze in London.
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“I must say this is a surprise but not a total surprise.
“I talked to Mira Potkonen’s coach Maarit Teuronen before they came to Rio and the coach told me that they believed that Katie Taylor was not unbeatable like she was in London or in the world championships before.
“They knew that she had lost one or two matches earlier this year and they knew that if Mira Potkonen was fast and smart in the ring she could beat her and she definitely would have a chance.”
After securing a bronze medal at the world championships this year the 35-year-old Finnish boxer travelled to Rio in the form of her life.
“Yeah, she’s already 35 years old, she started her serious career at the age of 27.
“Yeah, the coach told me that she is very motivated. Good athlete, very good punch power, totally a good athlete for this sport.”
INPHO / Dan Sheridan
INPHO / Dan Sheridan / Dan Sheridan
It’s been a remarkable rise for Potkonen who is a relatively late bloomer, having only started to take boxing seriously eight years ago.
“She started just in 2008 and the coach gave Mira an ultimatum, whether you start professional sport right now or just do it for fun.
“So in 2008 she took it seriously and then they had goals to first reach the Finnish level, then the Nordic level, European level and this spring she took world championship bronze. And then they came here and they truly seem to know what they’re doing.”
'This is a surprise but not a total surprise' - We got the view from Finland on Katie Taylor's defeat
WHILE KATIE TAYLOR and Irish sports fans struggle to come to terms with her shock exit in Rio, it seems the Finns weren’t entirely surprised to see Mira Potkonen dethrone the reigning Olympic champion.
The42‘s busy man on the ground in Rio, Niall Kelly, caught up after the fight with Esa Lilja, a journalist with Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
Lilja had been impressed by Potkonen in her opening bout and felt that she had a chance against Taylor despite the Bray woman’s fearsome reputation.
“They [Potkonen and her coach] were very confident before the match,” Lilja explained.
“Mira had a very, very good start here. She won [against] the Brazilian athlete who took bronze in London.
“I must say this is a surprise but not a total surprise.
“I talked to Mira Potkonen’s coach Maarit Teuronen before they came to Rio and the coach told me that they believed that Katie Taylor was not unbeatable like she was in London or in the world championships before.
“They knew that she had lost one or two matches earlier this year and they knew that if Mira Potkonen was fast and smart in the ring she could beat her and she definitely would have a chance.”
After securing a bronze medal at the world championships this year the 35-year-old Finnish boxer travelled to Rio in the form of her life.
“Yeah, she’s already 35 years old, she started her serious career at the age of 27.
“Yeah, the coach told me that she is very motivated. Good athlete, very good punch power, totally a good athlete for this sport.”
It’s been a remarkable rise for Potkonen who is a relatively late bloomer, having only started to take boxing seriously eight years ago.
“She started just in 2008 and the coach gave Mira an ultimatum, whether you start professional sport right now or just do it for fun.
“So in 2008 she took it seriously and then they had goals to first reach the Finnish level, then the Nordic level, European level and this spring she took world championship bronze. And then they came here and they truly seem to know what they’re doing.”
Hotline Rings: Rio 2016 / SoundCloud
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Boxing different persective finnish line fire in her eyes Katie Taylor Olympics Rio 2016