Olli Ohtonen appointed Professor of Practice for Snow Sports to strengthen cooperation between science and high-performance sports
Research-based solutions are quickly transferred into practice at Vuokatti, where the JYU Sports Technology Unit and the National Olympic Training Center Vuokatti-Ruka work in close cooperation under the same roof.
“At Vuokatti, our working principle is ‘From Science to Practice’, which means we integrate research alongside practice,” says Doctor of Sport Sciences Olli Ohtonen. “The latest knowledge and expertise directly strengthen competitiveness in high-performance snow sports.”
Olympic Committee supports research-based development
The support the Finnish Olympic Committee is providing for the professorship of practice is in line with its new strategy to focus more on and high-performance sports.
“The professorship of practice reinforces the excellent work being done on snow sports in the Vuokatti-Ruka working environment and enables the RDI activities to be extended to the entire field of Finnish high-performance sports,” says Janne Hänninen, High Performance Director from the Olympic Committee. “Ohtonen is both a scientist and a coach, and we want to use his expertise more extensively.”
“The professorship of practice further enhances the role of JYU-Vuokatti and the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences in Finnish sports culture, and the benefits are mutual for sure,” says Vesa Linnamo, Dean of the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences.
The professorship is funded partly by the municipality of Sotkamo and the City of Kuusamo as well.
Olli Ohtonen is a former cross-country skier from Finland’s national team. His career as a competitive athlete ended in the 2009–2010 season, but he has since continued as a passionate work-out enthusiast. After his athletic career, Ohtonen has worked in sport sciences and completed his doctoral degree at the JYU Vuokatti Sport Technology Unit in 2019. In his doctoral dissertation, he studied the biomechanics of skate-skiing at different levels of speed and exertion.
Ohtonen has worked as the sprint skiing coach of the Finnish national team from 2013 to 2018 and long served as coach for Olympic champion Iivo Niskanen (2013-2025). Ohtonen has been selected twice as the Coach of the Year in Finland (2017, 2018).In addition, he has led the skiing activities at the Vuokatti-Ruka Olympic Training Center from 2018 to 2025.
The University of Jyväskylä appoints experts or professionals who are working or have worked in a societal position, academia, the business world or the public sector to be a professor of practice. Professors of practice strengthen the University’s community relations while assessing and reviewing their respective field. In addition, they build networks between the University and working life and provide up-to-date information on workplace practices to the university community, which can then be utilised in teaching and research activities. Professors of practice can also provide teaching in their fields of expertise.
Further information:
Olli Ohtonen, olli.ohtonen@jyu.fi +358504077501
Janne Hänninen, janne.hanninen@olympiakomitea.fi, +358 40 55 333 88
