RS-X silver medalist Tuuli Petaja and life in the Olympic aftermath

by ISAF on 31 Jan 2013 Life for Finland's Tuuli Petaja has been a bit different after her silver medal winning performance in the Women's RS:X at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Fin was one the big stars of the Olympics for the Finnish Olympic Team which has seen the spotlight shine down on her, 'I've been quite busy after the Olympics, I must admit. Finland didn't get too many medals in the Olympics so getting a medal from there caused quite a lot of publicity at home.'

Petaja has turned into a household name in Finland and further success followed soon after the Olympics, 'After being awarded athlete of the year, my name and face is now in a lot of newspapers and TV channels. It's a bit different. Not many people thought a windsurfer could get that much publicity in Finland. Finland is more about the winter sports and Ice Hockey mainly.'

After a busy non-sailing schedule following the Olympics, Petaja is back in action at ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami and after the opening day of racing holds the joint lead with Blanca Manchon (ESP).

At this early stage on the Road to Rio, Petaja is taking things in her stride, 'The first goal this year is to compete in the World Championships in Brazil, so that's going to be my first visit there and I don't know much about Rio yet. We have another three and a half years to go so let's see how it goes.'

View a full interview with Petaja on ISAF TV here

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