COMING UP: E1 Series Jeddah (23-24 Jan)

Kimiläinen Marks Two E1 Titles at Finnish Sports Gala

Double E1 champion Emma Kimiläinen attended Finland’s Urheilugaala last night wearing jewellery celebrating her historic powerboat racing achievements.

The Team Brady pilot marked her back-to-back UIM E1 World Championship titles at the annual sports gala held at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki.

Kimiläinen wore a white outfit paired with a specially commissioned warrior necklace from Nagualkoru featuring two M’s representing “MM” – Maailmanmestari, the Finnish word for World Champion. The jewellery symbolises her consecutive championship victories in 2024 and 2025.

Super proud to wear a Nagualkoru warrior necklace that has kind of two M’s on it. MM in Finnish means World Champion and it resembles the two world titles won these past two years.

The Finnish driver also wore pearl earrings, a pearl bracelet and a pearl diamond ring, all created by Nagualkoru.

Back-to-Back Championships

Kimiläinen became the first woman to win the E1 World Championship when Team Brady claimed the inaugural 2024 title. The team, owned by NFL legend Tom Brady, successfully defended the crown in 2025, clinching the championship at the inaugural E1 Miami Grand Prix on November 8.

Racing alongside British pilot Sam Coleman, Kimiläinen secured three victories during the 2024 season across five rounds spanning Jeddah, Venice, Monaco, Puerto Banús and Lake Como. The 2025 campaign expanded to nine races across four continents, with Team Brady holding off Team Rafa – owned by tennis champion Rafael Nadal, in a finale that went down to the final lap.

Kimiläinen was named PIF Pilot of the Race in Miami for her performance under pressure during the championship-deciding weekend.

From Single-Seaters to Electric Powerboats

The 36-year-old Helsinki native transitioned to powerboat racing in 2024 after a career in single-seater motorsport that included two race victories and eight podiums across three seasons in the all-female W Series between 2019 and 2022.

Team Brady defeated rival teams owned by international sports and entertainment figures including Will Smith, Didier Drogba, Sergio Perez, Virat Kohli, Marc Anthony and Steve Aoki to secure both championships.

Finnish Powerboat Recognition

In the sport-specific category awards announced ahead of the gala, Alec Weckström was named Finland’s best powerboat racer for 2025 by Urheilutoimittajain Liitto, the Finnish Sports Journalists’ Association. The recognition followed his maiden F1H2O Grand Prix victory in Zhengzhou, China, and fifth-place finish in the 2025 Drivers’ Championship.

The Urheilugaala, now in its 19th year, celebrates Finnish sporting achievements with the main Vuoden Urheilija award going to tennis player Harri Heliövaara for 2025.