MILAN– Ismo Lehkonen was watching Finland practice on the eve of the semi-finals against Canada at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. With a smile on his face, he said he hadn’t seen his son, the Finnish striker. Artturi Lehkonenscored the overtime goal in Finland’s 3-2 quarterfinal win over Switzerland on Wednesday.
Lehkonen may have been at Santagiulia Arena due to work commitments on Wednesday, but his heart was in another part of town, at Rho Arena.
“I was covering the match between Canada and Czechia on Wednesday afternoon while Artturi was playing in the other arena in Milan,” he said. “I heard about the final result while I was on air talking about Canada’s spectacular victory.
“A colleague let me know that Artturi had just scored the winning goal in overtime. I was keeping an eye on that game but didn’t have time to follow it closely. My wife was at Rho with the rest of the family, but I wasn’t there.”
Ismo Lehkonen is a TV analyst for the Finnish national channel (Yle Urheilu). Three of the four quarterfinal matches took place at the Santagiulia Arena; the Finland-Switzerland match was the only one played at the Rho Arena.
“I didn’t see the goal live, but it is said that 3 million Finns watched the match on television,” said Ismo Lehkonen. “It’s kind of crazy when you consider our population is only 5.5 million. Hockey is a religion for us, just like it is for Canada.
“I was really nervous during the match. I was working, but I was thinking about Finland versus Switzerland. This is Artturi’s first Olympic experience. Her generation has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. They missed two Olympic cycles.”
In overtime, Artturi Lehkonen scored for an entire country with a shot over the glove of Swiss goalie Leonardo Genoni on a breakaway.
“I was happy for the team, I wasn’t happier because Artturi scored,” said the 62-year-old father. “It doesn’t matter who scored. It may sound cliché, but it’s true.
“I didn’t speak to Artturi after the match. I left him in his bubble. I didn’t want to disturb him. He’s playing well, he doesn’t need his father.”
