The University of Eastern Finland presented the awards to its distinguished athlete alumni on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses.
Nordic combined athlete Ilkka Herola, who studied business at the University of Eastern Finland, cross-country skier Inkki Inola, who studied law, and biathlete Suvi Minkkinen, who studied business, have been selected as the university’s Alumni of the Year 2026.
Herola, Inola and Minkkinen have distinguished themselves as elite athletes at international level and achieved Olympic success while successfully combining sport with their university studies. They have previously received scholarships awarded by the University of Eastern Finland, the Joensuu Sports Academy and the Kuopio Region Sports Academy.
Herola, Inola and Minkkinen accepted their awards at the university’s Alumni Day events held on the Joensuu and Kuopio campuses on 23 October 2026. The University of Eastern Finland will donate 2,000 euros to a cause chosen by each award recipient.
Herola, who studied business, has achieved considerable success internationally as a Nordic combined athlete. His achievements include a bronze medal in the Nordic combined large hill event and a silver medal in the team sprint event at the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, as well as a silver medal in the Nordic combined individual normal hill event at the 2021 World Championships in Oberstdorf. The Finnish Olympic Committee named Herola Student Athlete of the Year in 2021.
Herola is donating the funds associated with his award to the junior programme run by the ski jumping division of Puijon Hiihtoseura, a ski club in Kuopio. The programme has been adversely affected by the Puijo ski jumping hill reconstruction.
“Preserving the culture of ski jumping as part of the diverse sporting landscape of Kuopio and Finland as a whole depends on junior athletes, and they have been hardest hit by the reconstruction,” Herola says.
Cross-country skier Inkki Inola, who holds master’s degrees in law and business, has won several medals at major championships and achieved success in the World Cup. At the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, he won silver in the 10-kilometre classic event. In 2025, he won bronze medals in the 10-kilometre classic and sprint events at the World Championships, as well as gold medals in the sprint and 10-kilometre freestyle events at the 2025 World University Games Winter in Torino. The Finnish Olympic Committee named Inola Student Athlete of the Year in 2025.
“I am very grateful to the university for all the support I have received over the years in combining my studies with sport. That support has been invaluable in making everything work,” Inola says.
Inola will donate the funds associated with his award to students at Laukaa General Upper Secondary School who successfully combine sport with their studies or serve as role models for an active lifestyle.
“Young people of upper secondary school age are often at a point where sport and physical activity cease to be a part of their everyday lives. I believe it is extremely important to take every possible measure to help ensure that physical activity remains part of everyday life from childhood to adulthood and to encourage an active lifestyle.”
Biathlete Suvi Minkkinen, who holds a master’s degree in business studies specialising in service management, has won several medals in the course of her career, including bronze medals in the pursuit at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games and in the sprint at the 2025 World Championships in Lenzerheide. Minkkinen secured her first World Cup victory in Östersund in December 2025.
“The opportunity to combine studies and sport was absolutely crucial to continuing and developing my career as an athlete. I felt that the university supported me and gave me enough freedom to plan my studies around training camps and competitions while still making progress towards my degree,” Minkkinen says.
Minkkinen will donate the funds associated with her award to support students on the sports-focused programme at Joutsa General Upper Secondary School.
“I believe it is important for young people to be able to combine studies and sport immediately after comprehensive school without feeling compelled to move far away from home. I want to make it easier to combine sport and studies at times when young people may feel pressured to choose one over the other.”
The University of Eastern Finland has been recognised by the Finnish Olympic Committee as a Top-Level Athlete-Friendly Higher Education Institution. The university supports students in combining competitive sport with university studies. This support includes individual study guidance, flexible study arrangements and collaboration with the Joensuu Sports Academy and the Kuopio Region Sports Academy.
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