KOTAJA Amanda

Date of Birth: 3 Jan 1995

Age: 26

Gender: Female

Sport Class: T54

Place of birth: HUITTINEN

Birth Country:

Finland

Place of residence : HELSINKI

Residence Country:

Finland

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Women's 100m - T54	2
	Women's 400m - T54

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 100m - T54 Round 1 - Heat 2	Finished
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 100m - T54 Final	Finished
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 400m - T54 Round 1 - Heat 1	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
4	100m - T54	2012	London, GBR	16.29
6	100m - T54	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	16.47
6	400m - T54	2012	London, GBR	57.35
10	400m - T54	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	59.17
15	800m - T54	2012	London, GBR	2:00.73
World Championships
1	100m - T54	2019	Dubai, UAE	16.00
1	100m - T54	2017	London, GBR	16.62
1	Women's 200m T54	2015	Doha, QAT	29.82
2	100m - T54	2015	Doha, QAT	16.32
2	100m - T54	2013	Lyon, FRA	16.85
2	Women's 200m T54	2013	Lyon, FRA	30.31
5	400m - T54	2013	Lyon, FRA	57.44
7	400m - T54	2019	Dubai, UAE	57.79
8	400m - T54	2015	Doha, QAT	59.25
European Championships
1	100m - T54	2018	Berlin, GER	17.08
3	Women's 200m T54	2018	Berlin, GER	31.62

Skiing, cooking, baking, reading, listening to audio books, yoga, pilates. (Instagram profile, 04 Feb 2021; aamulehti.fi, 19 May 2020)

Occupation:

Sport Institute of Finland, Vierumaki, FIN

Languages spoken:

English, Finnish

Vampulan Urheilijat [Finland]

Jussi-Pekka Kurtti [personal], from 2018

2011 for Finland, in Switzerland (Athlete, 17 Oct 2011)

In mid-2016 she was sidelined for one month after undergoing surgery to remove a kidney stone. (ess.fi, 21 Jan 2017)

Her 2015 season was disrupted by a prolonged mycoplasma infection. (yle.fi, 22 Sep 2015)

She took up the sport at age 12 at a sports camp in Kuortane, Finland. (yle.fi, 27 Jan 2018; Athlete, 17 Oct 2011)

She was keen on sports at school and her goal then was to become a Paralympic gold medallist. "I was able to apply and use my imagination on how to perform the different types of sports. My teachers were really wonderful. The best part of sports was getting to be with others. When I was 12, there was a trial camp for those interested in Para athletics. At the same time, the Finnish Para athletes were also camping there and I was able to try a chair owned by a national Para athlete." (yle.fi, 27 Jan 2018)

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Outside of sport, she hopes to pursue a career as a psychologist. (hs.fi, 20 Jun 2018; aamulehti.fi, 19 May 2020)

She trains at the Leppavaara Sports Park in Espoo, Finland. (selkosanomat.fi, 30 Jul 2020)

Finnish wheelchair racer Leo-Pekka Tahti. (Athlete, 17 Oct 2011)

Philosophy:

"Big races are great. There are so many different people there, united by the same passion. The highlights of my life have been when I have been able to give an insecure or shy child or adult some kind of glimpse of light, inspiration, or faith in themselves and in their lives. Those moments are great and valuable. I want to be able to give hope to those who have none." (cp-liitto.fi, 29 Jun 2020)

She was named Sportsperson of the Year at the 2015 Satakunta Sports Gala in Finland. (yleisurheilu.fi, 31 Jan 2016)

She was named the 2014 Young Athlete of the Year by the Finnish Paralympic Committee. (sport.fi, 28 Jan 2015)

General Interest

Classification
T54 (IPC, 10 Mar 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (satakunnanviikko.fi, 07 Sep 2016)

General
COMPETING WITH MEN
Throughout her career she has participated in competitions against men, mainly due to the lack of female wheelchair racers in Finland. "I was the only woman for a long time. Sini Paukkeri joined us a few years ago, but at 18, of course, she is at a different point in her career than I am. I'm only getting to compete against men in my country at the moment [2020]. Of course, I'd love to have a start line full of women, but I'm used to racing and training with the boys. I've learned to compete with men. I often wonder why there aren't more female Para athletes in Finland. Are we protecting girls, or is it about Para sport being too difficult? There may be prejudice in clubs, there are fears that a Para athlete will be hurt, but we just move differently. My dream would be that one day there will be full tracks of female Para athletes in Finland." (aamulehti.fi, 19 May 2020; cp-liitto.fi, 29 Jun 2020; anna.fi, 22 Nov 2020)

RUNWAY TRAINING
When she began the sport as a child, she trained on an airport runway before moving on to the athletics track. "I started on winding country roads with my dad running next to me. Vampula [Finland] also has a private airport, the owner of which is a friend of our family. I got permission to train there on a mile-long runway, and it was an amazing training ground." (cp-liitto.fi, 29 Jun 2020)

Social Media

Legend

:: Silver Medal
:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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