The Beijing Winter Olympics officially kick off today and most of the athletes traveled to the venue this week. There are even stricter corona measures in the tight race bubble than the Tokyo Games. Lifa Air supports the health safety of the Finnish Olympic team by equipping athletes and the entire team with high-quality respirators made in Finland. A total of 95 athletes were selected for the Finnish team.

Masks repel an invisible enemy

"The use of Finnish Olympic team masks has been carefully planned and preparations have been made in good time", says the doctor in charge of the Finnish Olympic team Maarit Valtonen."Athletes are accustomed to a high level of hygiene and even in a normal situation, every effort is made to avoid a respiratory infection. In a pandemic situation, of course, it is clear that everything will be done on top of that. Masks are one of the most important means in situations where close contact cannot be avoided", continues Valtonen.

The Games, which start this week, are already the second Olympics to be held during the pandemic. Extremely stringent corona measures have required teams from different countries to take many different steps from previous races to ensure the health safety of the races. With the corona pandemic, awareness of good air hygiene has grown everywhere. Absolutely a necessary means for health-safe competitions is the constant use of effective masks. In the Beijing Games, this means wearing a respirator that is more effective than a traditional mask, a so-called medical face mask.

“Lifa Air's core competencies are air purification and the development of products that enable clean breathing air. The coronavirus spreads especially through the air in the form of fine aerosols. For example, when a person sneezes or talks, in addition to larger droplets, very small particles, aerosols, are also generated. They can hover and travel in the indoor air for up to hours. That’s why it’s important to wear a mask all the time in a race bubble. ”, says the marketing director Juha Uppa from Lifa Air.

At the end of September, the Finnish Olympic Committee visited Lifa Air's mask production together with a biathlete Mari Eder. Eder is Lifa Air's experienced expert in the use of masks. ”The national team for biathlon has decided to continue using masks in next season's competitions, regardless of the direction in which the corona pandemic is developing,”  Eder said during a factory visit. In the picture with Mari is the sales director Ville Köngäs from Finnish Olympic Committee.

The Olympic team is equipped with blue and white products

"Lifa Air's products are manufactured in Finland and that was an important selection criterion for us when choosing a mask supplier", says vt. sales director Ville Köngäs from the Finnish Olympic Committee. “Through cooperation, we take Finnish things forward. Top equipment is needed for top performance, and we were already very successful in cooperating at the Tokyo Games. It was great to visit Lifa Air’s factory and see how the masks are made and tested. Partners make things possible and are involved in many details. The tip of the iceberg is visible in the Games, but there is a lot of uncompromising work and a lot of detail behind it," continues Köngäs.”

Lifa Air manufactures several mask models in Finland, from medical face masks to the most effective FFP2 and FFP3 class respirators. “We were already a partner in masks at the Tokyo Games and the design for Beijing has been done ever since. The Olympic team's products in Beijing are state-of-the-art respirators. The same is used, for example, in demanding medical care”, says Juha Uppa from Lifa Air.

“The team’s respirators are blue as well as white and the colors are well-suited to the team’s fresh outfits. The product must be comfortable to use and fit snugly on the face. For this reason, athletes use not only two different models of respirators but also different sizes. As a domestic player, we are honored to be a partner of the Finnish Olympic team,” Uppa continues.

Factory photo: Liina-Maija Rummukainen, Finnish Olympic Committee
Airport photos: Jesse Väänänen

More information:

Finnish Olympic Committee: Acting Ville Köngäs, vt. Sales Director, tel. +358 40 962 5463
Oy Lifa Air Ltd: Juha Uppa, Marketing Director, tel. +358 45 118 9585

The Finnish Olympic Committee is a national sports and sports organization that works to make Finns more active and successful in top sports. Together with our member organizations and partners, we build vitality from exercise and sports in Finland. www.olympiakomitea.fi

Lifa Air is a Finnish health technology company founded in 1988 and a leading expert in clean air. Lifa Air designs and manufactures top-quality surgical mouthpieces and respirators in Finland. Lifa Air's domestic products have a key flag symbol. https://lifa-air.com/ ; https://lifamasks.shop/en

The official Olympics mask on sale here