Harri Olli dismissed from ski-jumping team for disciplinary lapses

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Harri Olli, 23, has been dismissed from the Finnish national ski-jumping squad for the remainder of the season.
      He was thrown out of the team by a Finnish Ski Association disciplinary committee that met on Tuesday to examine Olli's behaviour during and after the recent Ski-flying World Championships in Oberstdorf, where Olli was in the quartet that brought home a silver medal in the team event. He was also 6th in the individual event.
     
Olli's problems stemmed from failure to adhere to the rules governing athletes when representing the country, in that he went AWOL from the team hotel over Friday night and Saturday morning, although he was due to take part in the second round of jumping in the individual event on Saturday afternoon.
      This was compounded by allegations that he had been under the influence of alcohol during the trip to Germany, and that he had used slanderous language to at least one member of the coaching team on his return to Finland when met by the press at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
     
Olli nevertheless took part in the jumping on Saturday and on Sunday, where he did enough to finish in sixth place and hold his end up for the team.
      Olli denies having used alcohol while he was away from his hotel room on the Friday night, but the FSA says it has evidence to the contrary.
      Equally he says he drank half a glass of red wine on the flight home, but head coach Tommi Nikunen has stated he observed a more rigorous consumption than this.
      When the plane had landed in Helsinki, Olli delivered some fairly ripe language about the ski-jumping and Nordic Combined team manager Janne Marviala, which further compounded his offences.
     
Olli has since apologised for his ill-chosen remarks, but not for his behaviour in Oberstdorf, and has refused to explain his whereabouts on the Friday night.
      Harri Olli is a very promising young ski-jumper, who took a surprise silver medal on the big hill at the 2007 World Championships in Sapporo, Japan.    


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finns take two medals at Ski-flying World Championships (25.2.2008)
  Sapporo World Championships: Nordic Combined team do the business and Harri Olli enjoys dream début (26.2.2007)

Links:
  Harri Olli (Wikipedia)

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