Maiju Suotama is Imatra's new athlete ambassador

Maiju Suotama is a freestyle wrestler and lock wrestler from Imatra. He is the reigning champion of Finnish lock wrestling from 2016-2021.

- I feel proud that I get to represent my hometown in Finland and the world. Imatra has a good reputation in martial arts circles. In other towns, people wonder what is in Imatra's tap water, when several of Finland's best martial arts representatives have already come here, Suotama describes.

- I think that basic work is done well at Imatra and we have professional coaches here. We also have our own brutal style, which is often called "imatraaaka" elsewhere, and the concept of Imatra's power is well known in the sport, he continues.

The goal is to make it to the Lock Wrestling World Championships in Las Vegas in September

- Hopefully within a week or two it will be clear how the world will open up from the restrictions and the training camps could start. In May, there will be the European lock wrestling championships in Moldova, where I will go to apply for a place in the world championships in September, says Suotama.

The athlete ambassador highlights Imatra with his own personality

- Imatra has a strong profile as a winter sports town (skiing, ice sports), but we also have great athletes in many other sports. We see that athlete ambassadors are a good way to bring out a positive spirit and spread information about Imatra's good sports and exercise facilities, says the sales manager Anni Toiviainen From Imatra Base Camp.

- At Imatra, everyone gets to be their own great personality, and these athletes of different sports can be that too. They get to represent Imatra all by themselves in their own style, Toiviainen continues.

Freelancer Maiju Suotama highlights her Imatra identity and Imatra's training conditions on her own social media channels during the contract period. In addition, during the year we get to accompany the athlete's training days on a couple of occasions.

For more information:

sales manager Anni Toiviainen, anni.hopefulimatra.fi (anni[dot]toiviainen[at]imatra[dot]fi), tel. 040 615 8478