| …Lähteenmäki spent her childhood in Ikaalinen, countryside some 230 km from Helsinki. Already as child she was helping her dad with various farm work - “I believe that is where my strength and guts come from”, Lähteenmäki says. Strength and guts were also needed in the years before sports high school as her distance to school was 52 km one way.
…Lähteenmäki has done a lot of other sports in her youth – and pretty much also everything else which was possible in Ikaalinen. Orienteering is still close to Lähteenmäki’s heart, and her annual highlight is running the first leg in Venla relay for Kyrös-Rasti. She came to exchange as 60th last summer. In summer 2011, she challenged herself to compete in 100 m and 800 m track events. Her running shape was proven good, as she clocked 13,67 in 100 m and respectively 2.09,63 in 800m.
…She graduated from Vuokatti sports high school in 2010, and chose to focus full time in cross-country skiing since. Lähteenmäki, whose nickname is Ripe, also moved from Vuokatti back to southern Finland, currently living in Ikaalinen. |
