The Hanken student Olli Ojanaho wins World Championship bronze in orienteering

Olli Ojanaho starts his sixth year at Hanken this autumn and says that he has been studying part-time in order to balance sports and studies. He is studying Management and Organisation and plans to complete his master's degree in three years.

"In the beginning of my studies it was a bit more difficult, but I think I have found a good balance since then", Ojanaho says. "You can't do everything; you have to prioritise what is most important to you."

Ojanaho has had a successful orienteering career from a young age, winning a total of six Junior World Championship gold medals. He says he started orienteering at the age of 5 because his whole family was involved in the sport. When it was time to advance, Ojanaho moved from Rovaniemi to Helsinki after upper secondary school. He was interested in studying at Hanken, partly because he wanted to develop his Swedish, partly because he was unsure of what he wanted to do and Hanken offered so many different opportunities. Ojanaho appreciated the fact that he could try out all the major subjects before deciding on his personal choice.

At the World Orienteering Championships in Switzerland, Ojanaho competed in the long distance, middle-distance and in the relay.

"It was a great start to the week as I took bronze in the long distance - my first ever podium finish."

A sixth place was achieved in the middle-distance and silver in the relay. In other words, it was a successful trip down to the Alps and he explains how he fought with everything he had at the end to take the bronze medal.

In retrospect, it feels empty after two years of daily preparations for the World Championships, but Ojanaho is very much looking forward to the World Cup in the Czech Republic and the entire upcoming autumn season. His next big goal is the World Championships in Kuopio in two years' time.

Photos by Anu Uhotoinen

Text by Emilia Öfverström