Event Schedule:
Header photo: Jussi Hellsten
We are proud to present the keynote speakers of the ASPC XIV International Forum on Elite Sport!
Official Side Events
Speakers
Professor Petteri Taalas: Climate Change and Winter Elite Sports
Professor Petteri Taalas is specialised in the climate change, disasters, water, change management/efficiency gains and the UN affairs.
He was born in 1961, and he has a PhD in Meteorology from the University of Helsinki. Prof. Taalas has an extensive professional career both in scientific as well as in leadership positions in the field of Atmospheric Science. Prior to his 8-year term as the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva, he worked as the Director General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute for 11 years and he has returned to this position as of 1.1.2024.
He has wide experience on positions of trust in several national and international organizations (Member of the Climate Core Group of the UN Secretary-General, Chairman of the Board of European Meteorological Satellite Organization, Vice-Chair of the EC Atmospheric Science Panel, Delegate in the IPCC and Chairman of the National IPCC Committee of Finland), academia (e.g. the Chairman of the Board of the University of Eastern Finland), membership in national governmental bodies such as the Finnish Space Committee as well as in private sector (e.g. in the Board of Directors of Fortum energy company, Valio Food 2.0 programme Advisory Board).
Marianne Vikkula: COO of Wolt, former CEO of Slush, Board Member of Slush and Marimekko
Marianne Vikkula is the COO of Wolt. Wolt is a Helsinki-based technology company with a mission to bring joy, simplicity and earnings to the neighborhoods of the world. Wolt develops a local commerce platform that connects people looking to order food, groceries, and other goods with people interested in selling and delivering them. Wolt was founded in 2014 and joined forces with DoorDash in 2022. Marianne joined Wolt in 2018, and under her leadership the company has expanded from 6 countries in Northern Europe to more than 30 countries across EMEA today. Prior to Wolt, Marianne was the CEO of Slush where she played an incremental role in growing Slush into one of the leading tech and investor events in the world. Marianne is also a board member of Slush and Marimekko.
Glenn Björklund: Scientific support in biathlon by Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre
Glenn Björklund is an associate professor in sports science and leads the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre.
The centre collaborates with federations and national team coaches to support top athletes in World Championships and the Olympics. With over 25 years of experience, Mr. Björklund works with coaches and elite athletes in various winter sports. His research includes performance analysis and the physiology and biomechanics of winter sports.
Tommy Lundberg: Docent in Physiology and Assistant Senior Lecturer in the Division of Clinical Physiology at Karolinska Institutet.
Tommy Lundbergs general area of expertise is human physiology and sports science, with particular expertise in exercise physiology. His teaching activities are mainly related to the study programs Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Biomedical Analytics at Karolinska Institutet. Lundberg works both as a course leader and as an examiner. He is also course leader for a contract education course in advanced exercise physiology (4.5 credits) and teacher for the PhD course “Writing Science and Information Literacy.
– Karolinska Institutet
Olli Ohtonen: Development Manager in projects related to elite sports data and ski service in Nordic disciplines, at University of Jyväskylä, Vuokatti Sports Technology unit (JYU-Vuokatti)
Olli Ohtonen is a former cross-country skier, now a ski coach and a passionate developer of snow sports. He works at University of Jyväskylä, Vuokatti Sports Technology unit (JYU-Vuokatti) as a Development Manager in projects related to elite sports data and ski service in Nordic disciplines. He also leads research and development activities for snow sports at the National Olympic Training Center Vuokatti-Ruka. Both roles are guided by the principle “From Science to Practice.”
Fiona de Jong – Australian Institute of Sport – European Training Centre
Fiona de Jong is currently leading the Australian Institute of Sport’s (AIS) European operations for the 2 consecutive European Olympic & Paralympic campaigns in Paris 2024 and Milano Cortina 2026. In this role she supports Australian athletes competing and training in Europe and more broadly promoting Australian sport internationally in the lead up to Australia hosting the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
Previously, Fiona was the CEO and Director of Sport at the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC). Over her 12 years with the Olympics she successfully delivered 10 Australian Olympic Teams and leadership of an iconic Australian sport organisation.
Prior to the AIS, Fiona was Head of Australia’s Nation Brand & Chief Marketing Officer at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), leading a global initiative to inspire the world to visit, study, buy and invest in Australia.
With an early career in law and eCommerce she is praised as an astute global thinker, engaging with the senior leaders of sport, business and governments internationally.
Fiona holds degrees in Law (Hons), Information Technology is and a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. She is a Board member of Surfing Australia, Association of Sport Performance Centres (ASPC), Australia Italy Business Association and Australian National Sports Tribunal Member.
Antti Koskelainen – Director of Basketball Operations and Coach at Mäkelänrinne Sports High School
Antti Koskelainen is a basketball professional with a strong background in coaching, athlete development, and sports education. He work as the Director of Basketball Operations and Coach at Mäkelänrinne Sports High School, interacting closely with the Helsinki Metropolitan Olympic Training Center, URHEA. His focus is on helping young athletes balance elite-level training with academic success.
Sami Itani – Professor of Practice in International Business at Aalto University
Sami Itani is currently a Professor of Practice in International Business at Aalto University. Itani has previously served as the President of the Finnish Athletics Federation and the CEO of Adecco Finland. At the ASPC conference, the topic of the speech will be ”University and Elite Sport Centre cooperation – the case of Aalto University and URHEA” – Learnings from enhancing cooperation in the egalitarian Finland where prioritizing athletes’ services can even contradict with the National University Law.
Tapio Korjus – ASPC – President
Kuortane Olympic Training Center – Director
Tapio Korjus is the President of the Association of Sport Performance Centres. He serves also as the Director of the Kuortane Olympic Training Center. Korjus won Olympic gold in the javelin throw in Seoul in 1988. He has extensive experience in top-level sports, from structures and operating culture to development and leadership.
Sabine Hazboun – Programme Support Officer – Olympic Refuge Foundation
Sabine Hazboun is a Palestinian Olympic swimmer and Programme Support Officer at the Olympic Refuge Foundation. Growing up under military occupation and systemic violence, she defied immense challenges to pursue her Olympic dream, representing Palestine at the London 2012 Games. Supported by Olympic Solidarity, she trained at one of the Olympic training centres: CAR Barcelona. Since 2023, she has supported the Olympic Refuge Foundation’s sport for protection programmes, helping young people affected by displacement thrive through sport. Sabine is committed to sport’s power to foster healing, dignity, and belonging.
Aku Nikander – Teacher in the Psychology Department at the University of Jyväskylä
Aku Nikander works as a teacher in the Psychology Department at the University of Jyväskylä. His main teaching area is developmental and personality psychology. His research focuses on the career development and well-being of athletes and coaches, and on the effectiveness of talent development environments. Nikander has extensive experience of coaching young and elite cross-country skiers. He has also worked as a coach educator in multiple sports. At the ASPC, Nikander will be giving a speech on the topic of “A developmental evaluation model for evaluating and enhancing the friendliness of higher education institutions in Finland towards elite athletes”. ‘
Gloria Viseras – Senior Manager Safeguarding. Health, Medicine and Science – International Olympic Committee, IOC
Gloria Viseras joined the IOC Safe Sport Unit in the Health, Medicine and Science Department in September 2022 as Senior Manager Safeguarding coming from FIFA where she worked as Senior Event Safeguarding Manager.
At 15 she was the Artistic Gymnastics National Champion and one of the only 9 women who represented Spain in the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980.
For over a decade, she has been a strong advocate for safe sport and working at national and international levels to support persons with lived experiences and help organizations implement safeguarding good practices that foster safe and supportive sporting environments for all participants, especially young athletes.
In Spain, in addition to her extensive awareness raising work and the continuous support to athletes with lived experiences, she coauthored the safeguarding policy and procedures currently implemented by the Spanish High Council for Sport and of mandatory implementation by all National Sports Federations. At international level, she has extensively collaborated with the Council of Europe, the European Commission and other international organisations on different projects, conferences and activities.
At the IOC she is leading on the topic of Safeguarding with the implementation of Games-time safeguarding measures and embedding safeguarding across the lifecycle of Olympic events, contributing to the development of educational resources for stakeholders across the Olympic Movement and supporting sports organisations in the development and implementation of safeguarding policies and procedures.
Matti Suur-Hamari – Paralympic champion, world title holder and X Games gold medalist
Paralympic champion, world title holder and X Games gold medalist. Matti Suur-Hamari turned adversity into achievement. As a pioneer in para snowboarding, he inspires with his story of resilience, teamwork, and leading with purpose. The topic of the Suur-Hamari speech is: Rising Together: How teamwork and values create champions.
Mika Poutala – Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity
Mika Poutala was elected to Parliament from the Uusimaa electoral district in 2023. He currently serves as Finland’s Minister of Youth, Sport, and Physical Activity, and as the First Vice-Chair of the Christian Democrats.
Before his political career, Poutala was known as a successful speed skater. He competed in four Olympic Games, achieving his best result with a fourth-place finish at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018. That same year, he also won silver at the European Championships in the 500-metre race and in the team sprint.
After retiring from competitive sports, Poutala worked as an entrepreneur and professional speaker. He has also served on the board of the Finnish Olympic Committee.
Esa Hynynen – Specialist in Sports physiology – Finnish Institute of High Performance Sport KIHU
Esa Hynynen is a specialist in sports physiology at the Finnish Institute of High-Performance Sport (KIHU) in Jyväskylä, Finland. He graduated from the Department of Biology of Physical Activity at the University of Jyväskylä’s Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, and he holds a Ph.D. in Sports Sciences. His research interests include heart rate variability and its relation to the stress of physical training and overtraining. He has worked on a variety of research and development projects throughout his career, but his recent work has focused on providing scientific support to help Finnish elite athletes perform at their best.
Recently, the special environmental conditions at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics challenged the well-being and performance capacity of the athletes. Hynynen helped the Finnish Olympic team prepare for the hot and humid environment using the latest scientific knowledge. He also worked in the group preparing the Finnish Olympic team for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where the high altitude and cold environment posed an additional challenge for competing athletes. These special environmental challenges will continue to affect athletes, including the stress of altitude, heat, and time differences. Therefore, practical advice will still be needed in Milano-Cortina 2026 and beyond.
Dominigue Gagnon – Director of the Helsinki Clinic for Sport and Exercise Medicine
Dr. Dominique Gagnon is the Director of the Helsinki Clinic for Sport and Exercise Medicine, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, Finland, and an Adjunct Professor at Laurentian University, Canada. He is the Co-Founder of the Environmental Exercise Physiology Program (EP2-FINLAND), a national-level program to support athletes, military and occupational personal, and the general public for their education in relation to environmental influences on performance, health and safety. His research explores the influences of thermal stress on oxygen transport, muscle metabolism, and physical performance.
James Brough – Director, Performance Pathways – Canadian Sport Institute Ontario
James Brough is Director of Performance Pathways at the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario, where he leads a portfolio designed to drive sustained success in Ontario’s high performance sport system through strategic investment in athletes and sport programs. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, James was identified early in his career as an emerging swim coach by Swimming Queensland (SQ) and the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS). While delivering clinics for SQ across the state, he completed a Bachelor of Business at the Queensland University of Technology, creating an academic foundation that supports his systems-based approach to sport development.
Since relocating to Canada in 2005, James has held progressive positions within the Canadian sport system. He is passionate about high performance sport programs and the role they play in elevating podium potential athletes, and looks forward to contributing to the dialogue at the ASPC’s XIV International Forum on Elite Sport.
Bill Tait – General Manager – Performance Systems & Paralympic Partnerships, Australian Institute of Sport
Bill Tait is an experienced performance leader with over two decades in Australian high-performance sport. He has held roles across the AIS, Paralympics Australia, the Victorian Institute of Sport and Rowing Australia. A former National Rowing Lead Coach, he guided Australian crews to Olympic and World Championship medals before moving into system leadership. Bill has helped lead the development of the HP Sport 2032+ “Win-Well” strategy and the Para System Uplift, securing record investment and working with national and state partners to align priorities ahead of Brisbane 2032. His focus is on building practical partnerships, strengthening pathways and workforce capability, and creating sustainable performance environments. Colleagues value his calm, candid approach and his knack for simplifying complexity. He contributes to the sector through mentoring and speaking on performance, leadership and system thinking. Outside of HP sport Bill volunteers as a first aid and rescue provider for wilderness endurance events in the Australian Alpine regions.
Henrik Dettmann – Finnish basketball coach
During his career spanning more than 50 years, Henrik Dettmann has coached the Finnish and German men’s national teams in over 400 international basketball games. This makes him the world record holder.
During his decades as a coach, Dettmann has witnessed the development of the sport and changes in the world, as well as the circulation of ideas and values. He has drawn on everything human and interesting – cuisine, cultures, arts – to shape his coaching philosophy.
With his broad outlook, open heart, and keen eye, Dettmann has become an internationally respected top coach, whose protégés over the years have included Dirk Nowitzki, Lauri Markkanen, Petteri Koponen, and Hanno Möttölä.
Henrik Dettmann’s speeches inspire and challenge, evoke emotions and move people. His words reflect the weight of decades of experience and a constant enthusiasm for new things. For some, his words are a challenge, for others an invitation.
Anni Kärävä – Finnish freestyle skier
Anni Kärävä is a 25-year-old finnish freeski athlete competing in Slopestyle and Big Air. She grew up in the French Alps, where she discovered freeski at the age of 11 in a local ski club. From there, Anni progressed through junior competitions and eventually earned a place on the Finnish national team. The highlights of her career so far have been the Olympic final, a bronze medal at X-Games and a bronze medal at World Championships. Anni is excited to be on this path and keep progressing as far as she can, as well as work towards an inclusive and positive vibe within her sport and community.
Robert Kirmes – Finnish gymnast
Robert Kirmes is a 25 year old athlete/student. He is on the Finnish national team for men’s artistic gymnastics. Kirmes is also studying business economics at Arcada since 2021. He has grown up with gymnastics around him for all his life since his mom was a coach, and dad is still his coach. Kirmes lives and trains in the Olympic training center, Urhea, in Helsinki. His best accomplishments include a World Championship final in 2021, and 3 European finals in 2025. Kirmes has also won the Finnish championships 2 years in a row now and a total of 9 gold medals in the last 2 years.
Mikko Simon & Dr. Vernon Williams – Sprint AI
Dr. Vernon Williams is a sports neurologist and founding director of the Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine at the prestigious Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, CA.
He serves as the Team Neurologist for the Los Angeles Rams and neurological medical consultant to local professional sports organizations, such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Kings, and Los Angeles Sparks.
Dr. Williams is also a three-term appointee to the California State Athletic Commission (currently serving as Vice-Chair) and former two-term Chair of the American Academy of Neurology Sports Neurology Section. He has received numerous public accolades and is a frequent medical expert and contributor to mainstream media publications and news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, ESPN News, Huffington Post, as well as local and national television news outlets including Ivanhoe National Broadcast News, CBS, NBC, and ABC television affiliates.
SprintAI co-founder Mikko Simon will host a brief fireside chat with Dr. Williams, giving the audience an inside look at his expertise and experience at the highest levels of sport. Given that Dr. Williams is based in Los Angeles, and that Cedars-Sinai is the official medical partner of LA 2028, he will also share his perspective on the upcoming Olympic Games.
Alexandre Guyon des Diguères – Deputy head of the Performance Departement – INSEP
INSEP (2015 – 2025) :
- Co-leading the Performance Department (~ 40 FTEs)
- Managing the service offer dedicated to Federation’s Performance Projects (reviewing and questioning performance projects in coaching, mental training, strength and conditioning, rehab, prevention, video analysis, nutrition, women specificities, research, data strategy…)
- Tech monitoring & interacting with the sport tech environment (start up, investors…)
Previous experiences (2005 – 2015) :
- Project manager (consulting : 8 years in France, Paris)
- Account manager (insurances : 2 years in Italy, Roma)
Larbi Benboudaoud – Director of Institutional Relations – France Judo
Larbi Benboudaoud is one of the most prominent figures in French judo.
- He competed in his first Olympic Games in 1996 in Atlanta.
- In 1999, he became World Champion and went on to win a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games.
- He retired from competition in 2004.
- He then became the coach of the French women’s national team at INSEP.
- In 2016, he was appointed head coach of the women’s team, and in 2021, he became Director of High Performance, overseeing all French national judo teams.
- Larbi Benboudaoud stepped down from this role in December 2022 and was appointed Director of Institutional Relations at France Judo
Pavla Foley – IOC, Athlete Partnerships Manager
Pavla Foley is an international sports and athlete engagement professional currently serving as Athlete Partnerships Manager at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In this role, she leads initiatives that connect athletes with meaningful opportunities through collaborations with Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partners and IOC programmes.
Prior to joining the IOC, Pavla worked with athletes and teams at the International Cycling Federation (UCI), building on nearly a decade of experience in marketing and sales across both multinational corporations and small businesses.
She holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Management and Technology from AISTS (The International Academy of Sport Science and Technology), as well as a Master’s in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva.
A dual citizen of the Czech Republic and Switzerland, Pavla is multilingual—fluent in English, Czech, Italian, French, and Spanish.
She has also been active in leadership representation, serving as class representative at AISTS and speaking publicly on women’s leadership in sport, particularly as a mother advocating for inclusive leadership teams that inspire future generations.
Masako Hoshikawa – Deputy Director General – Japan Institute of Sports Sciences
Dr. Masako Hoshikawa is the Deputy Director General and Director of the Department of Sport Science and Research at the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Japan High Performance Sport Center. She holds a Doctor of Physical Education degree and has been involved in advancing research on sleep, circadian rhythms, jet lag, and hypoxia in relation to athlete performance and health for more than 20 years.
Since joining the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences in 2001, Dr. Hoshikawa has played a leading role in developing evidence-based strategies for enhancing athlete conditioning and adaptation to environmental challenges. Her research, with more than 40 published papers, explores topics ranging from sleep hygiene education and chronotype assessments to hypoxic training and recovery interventions such as cryotherapy.
At this forum, she will present “Heat and Time-Zone Adaptation Strategies: The JISS Approach Toward LA2028,” sharing insights into how scientific research is applied in the preparation of Japanese athletes for major international competitions.
Risa Iwata – Associate Research Scientist – Japan Institute of Sports Sciences
Dr. Risa Iwata is an Associate Research Scientist at the Department of Sport Science and Research at the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Japan High Performance Sport Center. She holds a Doctor Degree in Sports Sciences and has been engaged in research on environmental physiology, with a particular focus on strategies to improve athletic performance in a hot environment.
Since joining the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences in 2021, Dr. Iwata has been working on evidence-based approaches for heat adaptation to support athlete conditioning and performance in challenging environments. Her research aims to translate scientific knowledge into practical methods that help Japanese athletes prepare for major international competitions.