Finnish figure skating hopeful Iida Karhunen using wide sporting background to jump at Gangwon 2024
The 15-year-old figure skater, who won gold at the 2023 Winter European Youth Olympic Festival, spoke to Olympics.com about her impressive sporting background and her hopes for the future.
Figure Skating
When Iida Karhunen steps on the ice, you can be sure you're in for a surprise.
That's because the 15-year-old figure skater often belies her young age in attempting big triple jumps, the likes of which few of her peers are ready to perform.
She was already landing triple Lutz and toe loop jumps last season aged 14 – something helped by her background in other sports.
The Finn spoke to Olympics.com alongside her sister Laura, herself a former skater, after winning gold at the 2023 Winter European Youth Olympic Festival in Italy back in January, where the younger Karhunen's sporting prowess was revealed.
"She does gymnastics in the summer," Laura said of her sibling, before revealing something even more surprising: "(It's) nothing that serious but (she) also (does) running competitions, like 1000-metre races."
What's her personal best? "Around 3 minutes and 20 seconds," disclosed Iida bashfully.
Those athletic feats outside of the rink have made Karhunen a hot prospect in European junior skating.
Iida Karhunen's repertoire of triple jumps
When asked what her favourite thing to do on the ice is, perhaps it's not surprising that Karhunen answered quickly, despite her shyness.
"I love jumps and performing spins," the Lappeenranta native responded. "I'm good at jumps and spins and I like to skate to different kinds of music. Like classic and Bohemian Rhapsody are pretty different from each other."
Karhunen has attempted the five main triple jumps in competition: the flip, loop, Lutz, toe loop and Salchow. Only the triple Axel – something very few women perform, even at senior level – and quad jumps are left for her to learn.
She has won three trophies so far in the 2023/24 season – the Trophée Metropole Nice, Volvo Open Cup in Riga, and Tallinn Trophy, and finished fifth and seventh respectively in her two Junior Grand Prix competitions in Austria – where she posted a career-best short program score – and Hungary.
Up next though is perhaps the biggest test of Karhunen's young career so far, as she prepares to potentially represent Finland at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.
Finland's Iida Karhunen (C) poses with her gold medal from the girls' singles figure skating event at the 2023 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Italy
Iida Karhunen: Skating idols and hopes for the future
Finland has one quota spot in the women's singles event at Gangwon 2024, earned through performances on this season's Junior Grand Prix – mostly down to Karhunen.
If selected, Karhunen can expect something familiar in Gangwon: she will probably be one of the younger competitors, with skaters born from 2006 through 2009 eligible.
Karhunen, who was born in April 2008, was still only 14 when she took the Winter EYOF title in Friuli Venezia Giulia back in January.
"It's nice to be the youngest (because) it's challenging," she said. "It's nice to beat the older skaters. I'm not nervous, I just do my own thing and concentrate on that and not caring on what others are doing."
The teenager, who cites Nathan Chen and Loena Hendrickx as inspirations for their ability to jump well and also be good performers, has big hopes.
"I want to learn a triple Axel or quad jump, and participate in the (senior) Europeans or World Championships in the future."