By Hiro Yoshida

The conclusion of the 2024/2025 season for Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis was more dramatic than they planned. As they look ahead to an Olympic season, the Finns aim to channel the passion that has brought them success in their partnership and keep unexpected surprises to a minimum.

When Turkkila and Versluis opened the penultimate rhythm dance warm-up group at the World Championships back in March, nobody watching thought there was even the slightest possibility of not seeing them in the following day’s free dance. However, a tumble by Versluis right at the end of their midline step sequence caused their scores to drop to where it looked like they would just miss the cut for the free. Unbeknownst to a disappointed Turkkila and Versluis they would benefit from the misfortune that befell Lithuania’s Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius who a few teams later in the very same group would also have a subpar performance. In the end, Turkkila and Versluis advanced by 0.01 points.

“It was a rollercoaster of emotions just to understand in the locker room, after the tears and disappointment that now we have a chance, and there’s this gift given to us to show the free,” Turkkila said.

“We’re good friends and we have been also training together at one point,” Versluis said about the Lithuanians. “We get along very well with them, so we shared the disappointment together.”

Despite performing first in the free, the 2023 European bronze medallists posted the seventh highest score of the day and leapt from 20^th to 11^th in the final standings and helped secure two spots for Finland at next year’s Olympics. It was a fitting way to say farewell to the tango routine that had been a standout for them throughout the season.

“We gave everything out there,” Turkkila said. “I think it was one of the best free dances we did this season.”

“Skating first and getting those scores,” Versluis added.  “We’re going to miss it a lot. It has been a special programme for us.”

“The tango, the style, is somehow inside us, and every time it’s so nice to dance the style,” Turkkila said. “The first thought about it was in the Kiss and Cry (at Worlds), ‘No, we’re not going to skate it anymore.’ But for sure, there will be new programmes.”

“We’re also looking forward to start doing something new,” Versluis said. “It’s always a nice time to get to start building something new.”

Turkkila and Versluis initially formed their partnership around the time Boston hosted the World Championships back in 2016. Even with the disappointing result, participating at this year’s event in the same venue afforded them an opportunity to look back at how far they had come since their time as single skaters.

“I remember around the time when Boston Worlds happened in 2016, we had the tryout before that so it is kind of a circle now,” Turkkila said. “We knew from the very beginning that we want to go for achieving high goals, but we didn’t know what to expect coming from the single skating we both knew.”

In singles, Turkkila had competed four times at both the World and European Championships, while Versluis represented Finland twice at the Junior World Championships. Their skating idols in singles were Mao Asada and Daisuke Takahashi respectively. At Turkkila’s final  Worlds in Saitama, Japan she had the opportunity to share the ice with Asada one last time.

“I remember there was a standing ovation for her short programme and it was so beautiful and lyrical,” Turkkila  recalled. “I do have a photo with her that I think is still on my Instagram. That year we were in the same practice group, so I was training with her.”

Versluis never skated against Takahashi in singles. However, the paths of their competitive careers crossed at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama when the Finnish duo placed ninth above Takahashi and his partner Kana Muramoto who came 11^th.

“It felt funny that you beat someone you have seen as an idol,” Versluis said. “But of course, it was ice dance. In singles, I would never have any chance.”

Injury was what initially gave rise to Turkkila and Versluis joining forces as an ice dance team as a way to remain in the sport as jumping for Turkkila was not possible which ruled out pairs as well.

“Juulia had some injuries before she decided to try out ice dance, and I also had some injuries,” Versluis said. “But at the moment when Juulia asked me if I want to try with her, I was still doing single skating, and I did that season till the end and did some ice dance practice. Then after the season ended, I made the decision to go full on ice dance. It was just the training environment. The training itself was a lot more enjoyable than in singles. When I was doing single skating, I was training by myself for most of the time, so my motivation was a bit down at that moment. When I got the chance to try ice dance, we had a nice group and it was really fun. It was heart-warming to be training, and I really enjoyed it.”

“After my injuries, I couldn’t even think about jumping and having those throws and lifts would be impossible,” Turkkila said. “So ice dance was the only option if I wanted to keep skating.”

“I had actually a moment that I was considering going to pairs, because as a single skater, I was quite big and muscular,” Versluis said. “I lost all my muscles since then, but I’m happy that I went for ice dance. Even now in ice dance, I have had some shoulder injuries, so I can just imagine in pairs how bad things could have been.”

Turkkila and Versluis started out skating in the same club and as they progressed through the years they were acquainted with each other from competitions and from Finnish national team camps.

“When we were were single skaters, we were not that close,” Versluis said.

“We knew each other, but we never had that much conversation,” Turkkila said.

As they got to know each other, they were also both discovering ice dance for the first time which they believe was key to them building a strong partnership.

“In the beginning, it went really well as we were both exploring something new together,” Versluis said. “It kind of made the start easier in a way. I think if one of us would already have been in ice dance, there could have been a bit more tension between us maybe. Our relationship with ice dance has evolved, and we really understand each other and the strengths of each other, so we have a good dynamic.”

While most of the world’s top ice dancers are based in North America, Turkkila and Versluis train in Helsinki with Maurizio Margaglio and Neil Brown with a number of other teams, including Finnish number two Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen.

“We have a really good team,” Versluis said. “All our training mates are very, very supportive to each other.”

“We couldn’t ask for anything more,” Turkkila said.

“Our coaches are pushing us to do what feels good for us and what suits us, so they’re not trying to mold us into what they think is the best,” Versluis said. “They want to make the best version of what we can be, and not someone else. That’s very important. Then, of course, we have an amazing choreographer, Massimo Scali, that also sees in us how we look for the best and pushes for that.”

Naturally, their focus will now be on next February as they prepare for a second Olympic trip. They are looking forward to a different experience than what they had in Beijing with all the restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, although they are grateful for the opportunity of having been able to compete with fewer distractions..

“It was still something special and something you have dreamt of your whole life,” Versluis said. “It was amazing to be there.”

“We don’t have any other experience,” Turkkila said.

“It was a nice experience and I think it was good for us,” Versluis said about the Beijing Games. “We were still young and with not that much experience. It could maybe have overwhelmed us if there was too much happening around.”

There was no audience at the 2022 Olympics so the Finns are looking forward to having some of those closest to them in the venue to see their performances.

“I have some family members that already got tickets,” Versluis said. “They were lucky enough to be one of the first to buy the tickets.”

While their competitive careers have ups and downs like in Boston, Turkkila and Versluis maintain a philosophical outlook.

“At the end of it all, it’s only sport and figure skating,” Turkkila said. “The rest of our life we’re good.”