Väänänen began learning how to skate in 2009. She competed internationally for Finland as a junior single skater for two seasons, including an appearance on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit in 2018 where she finished 15th.
Väänänen decided to make the transition to pair skating at the end of 2018, not long after winning the silver medal at the 2019 Finnish Junior Championships. She relocated to Russia to pursue the discipline, with a partnership with Australian skater Hektor Giotopoulos Moore in mind. Unfortunately, the pairing with Giotopoulos Moore did not work out, and after incurring a new injury, Väänänen returned home to Finland to pursue school and coaching. For a time, the skater trained on her own, but in early 2021, Väänänen again returned to Russia to try out a partnership, this time with another Australian, Harley Windsor. Väänänen and Windsor trained together for a brief time, but the partnership ultimately failed. Väänänen later said of her time skating with Windsor, "...Our starting points were too different. Harley was already pretty good at the sport, he even went to the Olympics, but I can't say I'm a competent pair skater yet."[3]
Following her tryout with Windsor, Väänänen was connected with Mikhail Akulov, a then semi-retired pair skater 11 years her senior, through a skating coach and friend of Akulov's. The two quickly scheduled a tryout together and officially formed their skating partnership in mid-June 2021. The team initially began training in Armavir, but later relocated to Perm to train under Pavel Sliusarenko and his staff.[3]
Partnership with Akulov
2021–22 season
Väänänen/Akulov made their debut for Finland with a home start at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy where they finished 14th. Akulov was sidelined from training in November when he contracted COVID-19, but the team was able to return to the ice in time to compete at the 2021 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they placed 16th. A couple weeks later, in late December, Väänänen/Akulov competed at their first Finnish Figure Skating Championships, winning the senior pairs title by default as the lone entrant. Due to their placement at nationals, Väänänen/Akulov were named to the Finnish pairs berth at the 2022 European Championships.
The debutante Finns entered Europeans with the goal of placing within the top 16 teams after the short program, ensuring their advancement to the free skating portion of the event. This was not to be, as costly mistakes on both their side-by-side triple toeloops and their throw triple salchow left them in 20th place after the short. Nevertheless, Väänänen expressed her excitement at having the opportunity to compete at the event, stating, "It was absolutely amazing to skate and have this experience."[4]
Väänänen/Akulov ended their partnership in March 2022 after Russian athletes were banned from international competition by the International Skating Union due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5][6] As Akulov was a Russian citizen, the team were no longer eligible to compete, despite skating under the Finnish flag.[5] In addition, due to the war, Väänänen no longer wished to live and train in Russia.[2] The end of the partnership prompted Väänänen to consider ending her own competitive career in favor of moving on to show skating. However, Finnish-based Italian skating coach Maurizio Margaglio was able to get in touch with colleague and compatriot Franca Bianconi on Väänänen's behalf, and the newly partner-less skater was offered a tryout with Filippo Clerici. In June 2022, Väänänen traveled to Bergamo, Italy where she and Clerici trained together for five days before deciding to team up for the coming season with Luca Demattè, Ondrej Hotarek, and Rosanna Murante becoming their coaches.[5][1]
Partnership with Clerici
2022–23 season
The newly formed team of Väänänen/Clerici competed just once during the 2022–23 season, winning the 2023 Finnish national title in December 2022. They were ineligible to compete at the spring championship events as they had not attained their technical minimums through international competition in the fall.
2023–24 season: International debut of Väänänen/Clerici
Väänänen/Clerici began their season with the goal of attaining their ISU technical minimum scores to be eligible to compete at the 2024 European Championships and the 2024 World Championships.[5] The team made short work of their ambition, attaining their minimums during their international debut at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy where they finished seventh. Following the event, Clerici commented, "We are really happy to have reached the technical point limits for the European Championship and the World Championship...Next we will focus on the levels and the quality of the elements in order to increase our points."[7]
At their next event, the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy, Väänänen/Clerici were warmly received by a home audience. There, they placed sixth in the short program, and rose to fourth in the free skate with a new personal best score to finish just off the podium in fourth overall. The following week, the team competed at the 2023 Tayside Trophy where they won their first international medal, a bronze behind the Italian champions Sara Conti / Niccolò Macii and British home team Anastasia Vaipan-Law / Luke Digby.
At the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania, the pair finished in fourteenth place. They went on to compete at the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the pair place nineteenth in the short program and seventeenth in the free skate, finishing eighteenth overall. Väänänen/Clerici became the first Finnish pair team to qualify for the free skate at a World Championships.[8][9]
