HUNTINGTON Maria

General
LIFESTYLE CHANGES
Speaking in 2020, she said that she had made lifestyle changes around 2017 to ensure she got more sleep and recovery, which have impacted positively on her athletics career. "Sleeping and recovery is a lifeline in heptathlon. If it does not work, the body will not function in the best possible way. Sleeping is the biggest problem for me in the summer, when stress levels are high due to the race season. So about three years ago, I made a lifestyle change. I decided to stop partying when my current partner came into my life. I began to invest more in sports and, by doing so, in sleeping and recovery. I soon noticed a clear difference. When I started going to bed earlier, the quality of my sleep improved and I started to cope better." (fit.fi, 12 Jun 2020)

DUAL CITIZENSHIP
She holds British and Finnish citizenship as she was born to an English and Finnish mother. Her family moved from England to Tampere, Finland when she was aged five. (mariahuntington.fi, 13 Mar 2019; hs.fi, 09 Aug 2018)

FOUNDATION
In January 2021 she announced the launch of the Huntington Foundation, which aims to provide financial support for young athletes. She was inspired to start the foundation by her experiences as a child, as she and her three siblings were raised by their single mother, Maija, and found it hard to make ends meet. "Around the age of 12-13, I began to accompany my mother on shopping trips and learned how important it was to keep expenses to a minimum. We lived on the outskirts of Tampere, which was almost 20 kilometres from the athletics hall. Quite often we stressed whether we could afford to buy petrol for the car. We received a lot of help from Tampereen Pyrinto for club fees. If there were expenses that we couldn't afford, the club would occasionally meet them. Without my mother and their help, my athletics career would not have been possible." (granthshala.com, 27 Jan 2021; Twitter profile, 01 Feb 2021; yle.fi, 18 Sep 2020)

STUDIES
She had originally postponed going to university in order to focus on preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but following the postponement of the Games she began a course in information systems science at the University of Jyvaskyla in August 2020. "I got a place at the University of Jyvaskyla last year [2019], but I decided to postpone starting school for a year because of the Olympics. I decided this summer [2020] to start my studies but at my own pace. If I hadn't started now, I probably wouldn't have done them at all. I will try to do as much study as possible remotely." (sjl.fi, 23 Sep 2020; Instagram profile, 24 Aug 2020)