MAKI Kristiina

General
PREGNANCY PLAN
In January 2021 she gave birth to a son, Kaapo. She still aimed to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and ran as much as 50 kilometres per week up to the 35th week of her pregnancy. "I believe it can be done. I did a survey of female athletes about how long it took them to return, and I found a few examples. I don't think it will be difficult to return physically. Filip [Sasinek, her partner] and I take turns in training and Kaapo has been with us a few times. He still sleeps a lot and doesn't move, so it's easier." (atletika.cz, 10 Mar 2021; yle.fi, 26 Jan 2021; irozhlas.cz, 08 Jul 2020)

RIVALRY WITH PARTNER
She says she shares a healthy rivalry in training with partner Filip Sasinek, who also represents the Czech Republic in athletics. They were both part of the team that won silver in the mixed relay at the 2017 European Cross-Country Championships in Samorin, Slovakia. "We race together on the straights on every training run. The competition is definitely there, and I can say for myself that I couldn't have wished for a better person to understand me and what I'm doing." (atletika.cz, 10 Mar 2021)

FROM FINLAND TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC
She was born in Lapua, Finland and moved to the Czech Republic with her family at age three. Her mother, Jana, is Czech and she holds dual citizenship. (iltalehti.fi, 09 Jul 2020; tellerreport.com, 09 Jul 2020)