Ilkka Herola

In the notoriously tough world of Nordic combined skiing, one man who has consistently performed to a high level — and is still improving — is Filan’s Ilkka Herola. Born 1995, Herola is already the veteran of two Olympics as well as numerous World Cups and World Championships. He has finished in the World Cup top ten four times to date, racking up numerous podium placings along the way. He is a two-time World Junior Championship silver medallist and Continental Cup stage winner.

Hailing from the Finnish municipality of Siilinjarvi, an area known more for lakes than mountains, Herola’s first taste of international glory came at the 2012 Junior World Ski Championships in Turkey. Aged just 16, he entered three solo events: the 5km, 10km, and por equipo. He took silver in the 5km and finished well in the others. Just weeks later, he was back in Finland competing in his first World Cup stage. The following season, he truly began to put the hours in, travelling the world to compete in the World Cup, Junior World Championships, and senior World Championships. It was the beginning of a punishing schedule he has maintained ever since. In 2014, just days before representing Finland at the Winter Olympics for the first time, he won his second junior world silver.

Herola competed in both the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics, achieving top-ten finishes at both. His talents becoming ever-more primed by the demands of the World Cup, he will be looking to achieve a podium finish at the 2022 games.