Raisio honours hammer throw champion Silja Kosonen with 13,000 euros
Wednesday 9th September 2026 on 20:01 in
Finland
Raisio has honoured European hammer throw champion Silja Kosonen with a 13,000-euro grant, Yle reports. Several hundred supporters attended a celebration for the athlete at the Mylly shopping centre on Wednesday evening.
The city will also establish a youth athlete development programme named after Kosonen. The programme will award grants to talented athletes each year and will begin with 13,000 euros in funding.
Kosonen’s coach, Jani Pihkanen, received a 1,000-euro grant in recognition of his long-term and successful coaching work.
Mayor Eero Vainio praised Kosonen as an approachable role model for children, young people and the wider community. He said her sporting success would raise Raisio’s profile and strengthen the city’s position as a supporter of exercise, sport and goal-oriented youth coaching.
Kosonen said she would either save the prize money or use it to pay down her mortgage. She bought an apartment in Raisio late last year.
“Raisio has always been my home. I feel that it is a good place to live and train, especially since we have been able to build our own training facilities here,” Kosonen said.
The city has supported Kosonen’s training throughout the current decade. Cooperation and volunteer work led to an indoor winter training facility being built in a so-called bunker inside the wastewater treatment plant.
Supporters at the celebration had the chance to get autographs, take photographs with Kosonen and speak with the newly crowned European champion. Several fans praised her achievement and said she could still throw close to 80 metres.
Kosonen’s season ended early because of an ankle injury that requires surgery. Next Thursday, a piece of bone that has been present since birth will be removed from her ankle. She expects to recover in about four weeks.
She did not set a new personal best this year but is already looking ahead to next year’s World Championships in Peking. Kosonen said her goal was to set a new personal best and challenge for a world championship medal if she could train without injury.