Occupation
Athlete
Spoken languages
English, Finnish, Swedish
Club
Espoon Telinetaiturit: Finland
Coach
Timo Holopainen [national]; Mati Kirmes [father]
Sporting relatives
His father Mati Kirmes represented the Soviet Union in gymnastics and has also worked as an international coach, while his mother Lina competed for Sweden in the sport. His younger brother Robert represented Finland in artistic gymnastics at the world championships in 2019, 2021, and 2022, while his cousin David Rumbutis competed in the sport for Sweden at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2023; gymnastics.sport, 01 Jan 2023; voimistelu.fi, 08 Sep 2017; hs.fi, 16 Apr 2015)
Injuries
He injured his left shoulder in August 2017. (Instagram profile, 04 Oct 2018; svenska.yle.fi, 19 Sep 2017)
He required surgery on a foot injury in 2016. The problem affected his performance at the 2017 European Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. (svenska.yle.fi, 19 Sep 2017; olympiakomitea.fi, 11 May 2017)
Start sporting career
He took up the sport in 2000 in Sweden.
Reason for taking up the sport
His parents got him involved in gymnastics.
Milestones
In 2016 he became the first male gymnast to represent Finland at the Olympic Games since 1972. He finished 35th in the individual all-around competition at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Sep 2017)
Ambitions
To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (Instagram profile, 04 Oct 2018; voimistelu.fi, 12 May 2017; olympiakomitea.fi, 11 May 2017)
Philosophy / Motto
"Dreamers of the day are dangerous men, because they might act on their dreams with open eyes to make it possible." (Instagram profile, 04 Oct 2018)
Additional information
EARLY DAYS
He was born to a Swedish mother and an Estonian father in Reykjavik, Iceland. He moved to Sweden with his family at age one, and at age 12 they relocated to Espoo, Finland, due to a change in work commitments for his parents. "I was born in Reykjavik when my parents were working there. I stayed in Iceland for about a year until we moved to Sweden. I started gymnastics there and I had time to practise for many years. We moved to Finland in 2008." (savonsanomat.fi, 01 Jun 2018; intlgymnast.com, 28 Dec 2013)
SWITCHING NATIONALITIES
Having competed for Sweden earlier in his career, he began representing Finland in 2013. He had gained Finnish citizenship earlier the same year. (yle.fi, 08 Aug 2016; intlgymnast.com, 28 Dec 2013)
STINT IN GERMANY
He competed for the TG Allgau club in the German Bundesliga competition during the 2018/19 season. (deutsche-turnliga.de, 14 Sep 2019; tsv-buttenwiesen.de, 26 Jan 2019)
Last update : 2024-07-22