Lehkonen’s father missed Olympic overtime goal while broadcasting different game
MILAN — Ismo Lehkonen was watching Finland’s apply on the night of the semi-finals towards Canada on the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. With a smile on his face he recounted that he had not seen his son, Finland ahead Artturi Lehkonenrating the overtime goal in Finland’s 3-2 victory towards Switzerland within the quarterfinals Wednesday.
Lehkonen could have been at Santagiulia Arena due to his skilled obligations Wednesday, however his coronary heart was in a different a part of the town at Rho Arena.
“I was covering the game between Canada and Czechia on Wednesday afternoon when Artturi was playing in the other arena in Milan,” he mentioned. “I heard in regards to the remaining outcome while I used to be on air speaking about Canada’s dramatic win.
“A colleague let me know that Artturi had just scored the winning goal in overtime. I was keeping an eye on that game but I didn’t have time to follow it closely. My wife was at Rho with the rest of the family, but I wasn’t there.”
Ismo Lehkonen is a TV analyst for Finland’s nationwide broadcaster (Yle Urheilu). Three of the 4 quarterfinal video games have been performed at Santagiulia Arena; the Finland-Switzerland game was the one one performed at Rho Arena.
“I didn’t see the goal live, but they say 3 million Finns watched the game on TV,” Ismo Lehkonen mentioned. “That’s type of loopy when you think about our inhabitants is simply 5.5 million individuals. Hockey is a faith for us, similar to it’s for Canada.
“I was really nervous during the game. I was working, but I was thinking about Finland against Switzerland. This is Artturi’s first Olympic experience. His generation has been waiting a long time for this opportunity. They missed two Olympic cycles.”
In overtime, Artturi Lehkonen got here by means of for a complete nation with a shot over the glove of Switzerland goalie Leonardo Genoni on a breakaway.
“I was happy for the team, I wasn’t happier because Artturi scored,” the 62-year-old father mentioned. “It does not matter who scored. That would possibly sound like a cliché, however it’s true.
“I didn’t speak to Artturi after the game. I left him in his bubble. I didn’t want to disturb him. He’s playing well, he doesn’t need his father.”
