TENKANEN Tuula

General
LOOKING BACK ON BEIJING AND RIO
At age 18 she was the second youngest Laser Radial sailor of any nation at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. "It was an exciting experience. I didn't have much experience yet, so everything was really new. Now looking back, I think that the biggest challenge was to believe in myself and to be able to fully focus on sailing and forget all the hassle around. Anyway, I feel that it helped me a lot in Rio [in 2016] that I had already experienced the Games one time and knew a bit how it would be. The first time in 2008 I didn't really know what to expect. Before Rio I knew a bit about what kind of event the Games are and my sailing skills were totally on a different level than in Beijing. I had prepared well and my goal was to get a medal. Of course in the end I did not get a medal [in Rio], but the Games were still a great experience and I'm happy that I was able to sail a consistent week." (lansivayla.fi, 13 Mar 2021; laserinternational.org, 22 Apr 2019; lansivayla.fi, 13 Mar 2021; laserinternational.org, 22 Apr 2019)

ENVIRONMENTALISM
She is a strong supporter of marine conservationism, and is sponsored by Kotkamills, a Finnish company that produces plastic-free packaging. "As we all know there is far too much plastic in our seashores and oceans. It is not only an ugly sight but it also hurts marine animals. Therefore, initiatives are needed to reduce the use of plastic." (Instagram profile, 07 Jul 2021)

FURTHER STUDIES
In 2021 she was expected to graduate from a biotechnology diploma. After retiring from sailing, she plans to pursue a career in biotechnology. (lansivayla.fi, 13 Mar 2021; laserinternational.org, 22 Apr 2019)

At age 18 years and eight days when she competed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing she became the youngest female sailor to represent Finland in any sailing class at the Olympic Games. She was also the second youngest Finnish sailor of either gender to compete at the Games in any sailing class, behind Adolf Pekkalainen who was 17 years and 63 days when he competed at the 1912 Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2021)