With over 20 years of experience in show jumping, the Finnish athlete decided to invest in her professional future by enrolling in the Master in Sport Business Online at Johan Cruyff Institute
Throughout her long career, which began in 1992, Noora Pentti has competed in the most important international show jumping events, including World and European Championships. In 2023, she decided to prepare for a career beyond the sporting arena and began the Master in Sport Business Online at Johan Cruyff Institute.
Despite the challenges of combining international competition with academic studies, Noora highlights the similarities between both activities: focus, discipline and determination.
In this interview, she shares her academic experience at Johan Cruyff Institute and offers advice to other athletes who want to prepare for their professional future.
Noora Pentti competing at the Rolex Stephex Masters in Knokke, Belgium.
How has your experience as a high-performance athlete influenced the way you approach your studies and professional development?
I believe being an athlete gives you a proactive mindset towards your career, and that was one of the reasons why I always knew I would eventually want to study and keep learning. As an athlete, you’re always focused, you plan ahead, and you have long-term goals. That was something I found easy to transfer to my studies as well: focus, discipline, determination, and a very goal-oriented mindset in everything you do.
What are the main challenges of balancing international competition with academic commitments, and how do you manage them?
I think the biggest challenge is time management. Yes, time management is hard, because you travel a lot, your schedule is very irregular, and sometimes it’s really difficult to plan ahead. But I believe it’s absolutely possible if you have the right mindset. And of course, a big advantage is that Johan Cruyff Institute understands the demands of sport and offers flexibility.
There will definitely be moments when you’re competing or training and feel mentally tired, and your motivation takes a hit. In sports, you can see short- and long-term goals, but in academic studies, you have to focus on something further away—you have to think that this might be your second career one day. And sometimes that’s hard to remember when you’re immersed in your sporting life.
“I think it’s important to keep in mind that what you’re studying now is something you’ll need in the future, once you retire. That helps a lot.”
How have your studies at Johan Cruyff Institute helped you gain a new perspective on your sport and your future beyond it?
I always saw myself as an athlete, of course, but studying gave me a much broader vision of sport. For example, from a strategic point of view, I became aware that there is a huge ecosystem that includes governance, business strategy, fan engagement, social impact.
That’s why I think studying really broadens your perspective—it helps you see sport beyond just the competitive side. My studies at Johan Cruyff Institute helped me appreciate my experience as an athlete; now I know I can truly contribute to the industry.
“In short, I believe that when you educate yourself, you start to understand the sports sector in a much wider way.”
Noora Pentti at the CSI World Cup in Helsinki, Finland.
Can you share an example of how you’ve applied something you learned during the Master in Sport Business Online to your career as an athlete or a project outside the field?
Yes, actually, while I was studying at Johan Cruyff Institute, I helped launch a startup. That’s why the program taught me a lot of new skills that I was able to apply directly to that project. Skills like building a value proposition, identifying key audience segments, creating a brand narrative.
I was lucky, because many of the things I learned at Johan Cruyff Institute I was able to apply almost simultaneously to this startup, which is related to the sports industry.
What advice would you give to other athletes who want to study while still competing?
I think my biggest advice would be: just start, don’t wait for the perfect moment. Of course, it’s a challenge to combine studies with an active competitive career, but you shouldn’t see it as a distraction or an extra burden—it’s a way to grow.
“It’s a very useful tool to gain perspective on the industry, to build a network, and really start thinking about your second career after sport.”
In my case, studying at Johan Cruyff Institute gave me a sense of purpose beyond athletic performance, and also helped me think of career paths I hadn’t considered before.
