Athlete comes out after European gold medal win in front of girlfriend
Silja Kosonen (Getty Images)
Finnish hammer thrower Silja Kosonen has won the biggest title of her career and celebrated it by going public with her girlfriend.
The 23-year-old claimed gold in the women’s hammer throw at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham last Wednesday (12 August), beating her nearest rival by almost two metres to become just the sixth Finnish woman ever to win an individual title at the European Athletics Championships.
Watching from the stands was Kosonen’s girlfriend, Senni Viren, a Finnish futsal star who plays for the national team. The couple have been dating since the beginning of the year after meeting in their hometown of Raisio.
Speaking to Finnish broadcaster YLE after her victory, Kosonen said having Viren there had meant everything to her.
“I was already dreaming about the moment when I would be able to celebrate with her on the sidelines,” she said.
Kosonen also spoke about how falling in love has changed her life.
“Since I met Senni at the beginning of the year, life has started to ‘smile’ in a different way,” she said. “I have found another person with whom I can be myself.”
The couple’s relationship was not something Kosonen had planned to announce during the championships publicly. But after winning gold, she said she wanted to be authentic and share the joy of the moment.
“Most of the messages have been really positive,” she told Iltalehti in a 16 August interview. “There are always more negative ones. We didn’t plan on making it public in any way in advance. I felt like I wanted to enjoy the moment and share the joy with others.”
Kosonen is already a seasoned Olympian despite being just 23. She reached the hammer throw final at her Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2021 at just 18 years old, before finishing fifth at Paris 2024. She is now expected to compete at her third Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 — this time as an out gay athlete.
According to records compiled by historian Tony Scupham-Bilton, no Olympic hammer thrower, male or female, has previously publicly come out as LGBTQ+.
And if all goes to plan, she’ll be taking both that European title and her now-public happiness with her to LA in 2028.
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