Miro Karppanen is a versatile skier who has tested his wings in the Ski Classics series, the World Cup, and on domestic tracks, winning Finnish Championship gold in the 50km race last winter and claiming victory in the classic distance of Finland’s biggest mass participation race, the Finlandia Ski Marathon. His big goal for the upcoming winter is qualifying for the Olympic Games in Italy and achieving the best possible result on the tracks of Val di Fiemme.

Miro Karppanen started skiing at the age of one when his father strapped skis on his feet. Since then, skiing has been a passion for the now 26-year-old skier. He recalls how, in 2006, he would rush home from school to watch the Turin Olympics on TV. Ten years later, he reached a major milestone in his career by winning the Finnish Championship in the M-18 category in the 15km classic technique race. That race showed the young skiing talent that a professional career in skiing could be within reach.

Miro says he is an enthusiastic Tom Cruise fan who has watched all the Mission Impossible movies and listens to rap music and older metal genres. He doesn’t have a favorite dish, but if he had to choose one, it would be chicken with rice and vegetables.

Last winter was a bit mixed for Miro. In the early season, his performance wasn’t at the expected level, but later in the winter, his form improved. He returned home with a victory at the Finlandia Ski Marathon, gold in the 50km Finnish Championship race in Taivalkoski, and a 16th-place finish in the 50km race that concluded the World Cup in Lahti.

Also Read: Karppanen and Kainulainen winners at Finlandia Ski Marathon Classic 2025

He is part of the Finnish Ski Association’s B national team and now aims for next winter’s Olympics.

Read More: Finnish cross-country skiing teams for season 2025/2026

ProXCskiing.com’s sister site, Maastohiihto.com, asked Miro a series of questions, which he answered with analytical enthusiasm, reflecting his deep passion and love for the sport.

What changes have you made in your training or otherwise in preparation for the Olympic year?
“Not much has changed. The key is to have a successful training season and aim for general improvement. I need to raise my baseline level a bit so that achieving results in international races won’t require peak performances. As we get closer to the competition season, I need to focus more on ensuring I have enough speed, performance, and capacity for the 10km and 20km distances early in the season.”

What are your strengths as a skier, and what areas still need improvement?
“Double poling and upper-body capacity are my strengths, along with fairly good anaerobic performance for a distance skier. My muscular endurance and stamina have also improved to a decent level thanks to years of hard training. The main limiting factors are my oxygen uptake and raw aerobic capacity.”

You’ve also competed in long-distance races and the Ski Classics series. What has your experience been like?
“What first comes to mind is the incredibly high level of competition in that series nowadays. I feel those races build toughness, and they can definitely boost fitness and capacity for shorter distances—if you recover well and can optimize training when transitioning back to standard races.”

You also won the Finlandia Ski Marathon. What was that experience like, and how would you describe Finland’s biggest mass race?
“Finlandia-hiihto (Finlandia Ski Marathon) was a well-organized event and excellent preparation for Vasaloppet. I think it plays a major role in getting the general public moving, as many people participate in the recreational categories. That definitely motivates people to go out skiing if they’ve signed up. It would be great if the competition categories could reach an even higher level in the coming years.”

What does skiing mean to you now, and what do you want from your career?
“Skiing and sports have become a way of life, and they are very much at the center of everything right now, as I try to become as good as I possibly can in the sport. My goal is to reach my maximum potential, so there won’t be any regrets. My dream is to win Olympic gold. That’s unlikely to ever be truly realistic—but if you don’t even try, you definitely won’t succeed.”

What else do you do besides skiing—do you have hobbies, a job, or are you studying?
“At the moment, I’m not doing anything else alongside skiing, and I don’t have other regular hobbies. Most of my time goes to training and recovering. I also follow many other sports closely.”

What’s your view of the current state of Finnish skiing in both traditional and long-distance formats?
“In men’s traditional distances, I think we’re in a good place—we have athletes capable of top results, but the competition for national team spots and international race representation has gotten much tougher even during my career. For the women, the depth behind the top level isn’t quite as strong, but we currently have several athletes with top three potential. However, we don’t have that many talented young skiers in Finland seriously committing to the sport, so in the future, we’ll likely continue to rely on standout individuals when it comes to adult championship medals. In long-distance skiing, we unfortunately don’t have many competitors. Kati Roivas is at the absolute top among the women, and a few men are close to the front, but we need stronger skiers in that field to help build a stronger Ski Classics culture in Finland.”

How can we get young people interested in the sport, especially with so many other options competing for their attention?
“We need role models and idols to inspire kids and teens to get excited about competitive skiing. We do have some, but you can never have too many. We also need to make skiing and ski racing feel more trendy somehow, because a lot of people do ski, and the sport has a strong presence in Finland.”

Who have been your idols and role models whose example you want to follow?
“Over the years, I’ve had countless role models, but the biggest ones are probably Petter Northug and Martin Johnsrud Sundby. You might not want to follow their example in everything, but what I’ve always liked about Northug is his confidence and showmanship, which brought a lot of new interest to the sport in his era. From Sundby, I’ve drawn inspiration from his extreme training—he’s definitely one of the highest-standard athletes in terms of training in our sport.”

What kind of role model would you like to be for younger athletes?
“That with enough hard work, results and improvement are possible. I’ve already far surpassed the level I once thought I could reach as an athlete. It’s just taken a lot of hours and repetitions.”

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