By Teemu Virtanen
Team Eksjöhus’ athlete Ari Luusua, 33, from Finland has unexpectedly decided to quit his professional skiing career. He informed about his retirement on his Instagram and Facebook accounts today.
“It’s time to announce that I will retire from active skiing. This means that I will not race anymore, but I will never stop training and enjoying exercising outdoors. That’s my way of life that I grew up with since my childhood,” Luusua writes on Instagram.
Ari Luusua was the most successful Finnish Pro Team athlete in Visma Ski Classics. He was on the podium twice, at Jizerska Padesatka in 2019 and at this year’s Årefjällsloppet. He was third in both races. He also finished 5th at Vasaloppet last winter, which was the best result for a Finn in more than 40 years.
Luusua became a father this spring, and family issues were certainly a strong reason for his decision to leave skiing behind.
“The reasons for my retirement are personal and much bigger than skiing itself. I now have more important things in my life than professional skiing. The most important thing for me is my family, my wife and my child. I’m going to devote my time to them and my closest friends. I’ve also had some problems with my health lately, which contributes to my decision to say goodbye to skiing.”
