Baden, Austria, June 23, 2017. Riikka Lehtonen is one of the most experienced players you may bump into not only at the Baden Masters – and even at 37 years of age, her enthusiasm and dedication remain a true inspiration for the younger ones, including her current partner Anniina Parkkinen. Actually, Lehtonen and Parkkinen switch partner quite regularly, almost every other week, with Taru Lahti-Liukkonen being the third member of the team.
Last year Lehtonen and Lahti suffered a major setback when they failed to qualify to the Rio 2016 Olympics and many speculated that this would have coincided with the end of Lehtonen’s career. Riikka, nevertheless, did not rush into any decision after that, and she stuck with her commitments, playing – and winning gold – with Lahti at a CEV Satellite on home sand – at Kisakallio Sports Institute – before taking an extended break from the sport.
Parkkinen’s former partner, Essi Hasu, retired after that same event at Kisakallio and she could hardly find anyone to play with in Finland. “At this stage, our coach Kai Liukkonen came up with the idea of setting up a team consisting of three players,” Riikka recounts. “In his mind, we would find a way to rotate, taking Anniina to more and more FIVB and European events, so that she can slowly make it to the next level and gain experience. On the other hand, we agreed early enough that it would be me and Taru to play together at the major events, including the World Championship in Vienna.”
Taru, Anniina and Riikka play with a different partner almost every week and this can be quite challenging. “At the beginning, I also thought, oh my God, this is not easy and I was not sure it was going to work, but I have to say that it has been just fine so far. Of course, you have to adjust every time you change partner and this actually applies especially to me, since I take a different position and side of the court depending on if I play together with Taru or Anniina. It is challenging, yes, but it is also a lot of fun.”
“Anniina is also a different type of player compared to myself or Taru,” Lehtonen continues. “She is shorter, less physical, and she does not hit the ball as hard as Taru and I do, but she is growing and developing very fast. We are of course happy we made it to the Main Draw at the Baden Masters. After this tournament, Taru and I will play together at the Major Series in Porec and Gstaad since we want to prepare for the World Championship the best we can. After that, we’ll see how we continue the season, for the time being we know that Anniina will be going to the European Championship in Jurmala.”
Lehtonen will turn 38 in July but she still enjoys the game, even more now that she is 100% fit. “I know that Taru and Anniina are much younger and they are the team for the future, but I still enjoy playing as much as when I was younger. The more now that I am fit and healthy, something I have been longing for since many years, so I can focus on the opposition rather than on myself, without any concerns for my knee or any other injury,” she continues. “Of course we cannot continue with this kind of almost weekly rotation and with a team of three until Tokyo 2020, but for now I am having a good time.”
Even the fact that Taru Lahti and coach Kai Liukkonen got married during the off season does not seem to be too much of a problem. “I have to say that they are really good at splitting their private life from the work we do as a team. I would not be able to manage that in the same way with my partner, this is something I have to acknowledge and admire of them. I do not know how they can manage that, since Kai only speaks about Beach Volleyball all the time, but there must be a way they get along with this,” she concludes with a bright smile.
Click here for further information