Yarns, stitches, loops and purls, instead of spins, flips and slides — the Finnish team in Pyeongchang are using the soothing effects of knitting when Olympic pressure becomes too great.
“It has become something of a hobby for me,” said snowboard coach Antti Koskinen, who has been spotted with his needles out in the snow. “I mean, I do it every four years... It is a nice, Finnish thing... It means no unnecessary chit-chat is needed.”
Grinning as he continued to knit a small, blue woolen square, Koskinen said that about half of the 102-strong team were knitting at these Games.
Photo: Reuters
The Finns started using the stress-relief method at the Sochi Games, where they knitted a scarf. Two years later at the Rio Olympics, they added to it.
However, their efforts this time are for a different project.
“We are knitting a blanket for our president’s child,” Koskinen said. “Everyone is knitting a little square, and then we will join them together... I got a bit carried away, so — a rectangle,” he said, holding it up.
Another to have gotten carried away was 20-year-old ski jumper Eetu Nousiainen, who worked away at a long strip of scarf.
“Maybe mine can be for the president’s dog,” he said, chuckling.
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