Saturday, 13 June 2009
Pars near 80m, 3000m PB in Kuortane
Krisztian Pars in Kuortane (Paula Noronen)
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Kuortane, Finland - Hungary's Hammer thrower Krisztian Pars produced the best result at the annual Finnish Elite Games series opening competition in Kuortane on Saturday (13), but the Finns also made some really promising efforts.
Weather conditions could be almost anything at this time of year, but Saturday was a warm and partly sunny day with a temperature of almost 20 degrees in Kuortane.
Pars opened with 79.61m and then produced 79.12m and 78.34m. A much expected duel against Finland´s Olli-Pekka Karjalainen was not very even, as Karjalainen set 76.06m as his best mark in the sixth round.
European Steeplechase Champion Jukka Keskisalo showed again that he is in a better shape than ever in this time of season. Keskisalo won the flat 3000m with a PB 7:53.64 and broke the eight-minute barrier for the first time. Keskisalo was also the first Finn to do it since Samuli Vasala in 2006.
The first kilometre was quite fast (2:37), but the second a bit slow 2:42. Estonia´s Tidrek Nurm opened the kick but had no chance when Keskisalo spurted some 250m before the finish line. Nonetheless Nurm clocked a PB 7:56.08.
Keskisalo clocked 8:21.28 in theSteeplechase - his 3rd best ever - in Huelva, Spain, on Thursday, and has set new PBs in the 5000 and 10.000m this season, as well.
"I'm satisfied with my performances. After 2006 I have had so few moment of joy, but now everything seems to be okay," smiled Keskisalo.
Keskisalo will run at the European Team Championships in Bergen, Norway, next weekend and then fly to the Swiss mountains for a three-week training camp.
Hockey player Mannio in a stable form
Ari Mannio produced two good throws in the Javelin: 82.43m in the third and 83.03m in the sixth round. He was the only man to better the 80m line, as Latvia´s Eriks Rags reached 79.82.
Mannio is heading into the European U23 Championships in Kaunas in July and will not accept any place other than number one. Right now he´s a clear favourite with his season and pesonal best 85.70m.
"I still remember very well my feeling after placing fourth at the same championships in Debrecen two years ago. I am faster and more flexible than ever. That´s why 82 to 83 metres is quite easy now," Mannio said.
What about the IAAF World Championships in Berlin?
"Of course it would be nice to go there, as well, but Kaunas is my main goal this year."
By the way, Mannio is absolutely the only 80m Javelin thrower in the world who also plays ice hockey in an official league, the Finnish third division in this case.
"It's not dangerous, because I started at the age of three. I am going to continue playing in the next season, too," Mannio added.
Kivinen leaps long in the wind
Mikko Kivinen, 21, got a good burst of self confidence for U23 Europeans as he won the Men´s Long Jump with a windy 7.91m (+3.1 m/s) and a legal 7.72m. Petteri Lax, the silvermedallist at the European U23 Championships in 2007, set his SB 7.77m in the last round, but his jumps were techically far from ideal.
Kivinen improved his PB by one centimetre and was sure, he did not use all his capacity.
"I have had good jumps in the previous competitions this summer, but this was the first time that the weather and wind was good," said Kivinen.
Kivinen placed fourth at the European Junior Championships in Hengelo in 2007. In Kuortane he did not use all the attemps due to a slight cramp in his left calf.
Korpela comes closer to 70m
Merja Korpela set her personal best 69.00m in the Women´s Hammer Throw and, in addition to that, twice reached beyond her previous PB of 68.65 from 2007.
Korpela, 28, who took the bronze medal at the European Junior Championships in 1999, has in many years suffered from different ailments during the winter, but this year it's been different.
Korpela´s winning mark is only 63cm short of Mia Strömmer's Finnish record set in 2001. She is expected to be the first Finnish women over the 70m line.
"It´s getting closer step by step," said Korpela. "Avoiding illnesses and training a solid winter season is my secret for such good shape."
Sonck and Ruostekivi fast on the track
In the sprinting events, the happiest Finn was Juha Sonck, who win the 110m Hurdles in 13.78 seconds, only 0.03 seconds shy of his PB from 2006. Jarkko Ruostekivi, who had come back after a bad groin injury, won the 100m in 10.42.
Minna Nikkanen cleared 4.20m in the women's Pole Vault and then raised the bar to a new Finnish Record height 4.36m, but that was too much for her this time.
Other winners -
Men: 800m - Robert Rotkirch FIN 1:50.75, 400mH - Aarne Nirk EST 51.61, HJ - Martjin Nuyens NED 2.21, PV - Eemeli Salomäki FIN 5.55.
Women: 800m - Lilya Lobanova UKR 2:05.82, 3000m SC - Saara Skyttä FIN 10:21.13, HJ - Anna Iliystchenko EST 1.87, TJ - Svetlana Semyonova RUS 13.68 (+2.3)
Antti-Pekka Sonninen for the IAAF
Weather conditions could be almost anything at this time of year, but Saturday was a warm and partly sunny day with a temperature of almost 20 degrees in Kuortane.
Pars opened with 79.61m and then produced 79.12m and 78.34m. A much expected duel against Finland´s Olli-Pekka Karjalainen was not very even, as Karjalainen set 76.06m as his best mark in the sixth round.
European Steeplechase Champion Jukka Keskisalo showed again that he is in a better shape than ever in this time of season. Keskisalo won the flat 3000m with a PB 7:53.64 and broke the eight-minute barrier for the first time. Keskisalo was also the first Finn to do it since Samuli Vasala in 2006.
The first kilometre was quite fast (2:37), but the second a bit slow 2:42. Estonia´s Tidrek Nurm opened the kick but had no chance when Keskisalo spurted some 250m before the finish line. Nonetheless Nurm clocked a PB 7:56.08.
Keskisalo clocked 8:21.28 in theSteeplechase - his 3rd best ever - in Huelva, Spain, on Thursday, and has set new PBs in the 5000 and 10.000m this season, as well.
"I'm satisfied with my performances. After 2006 I have had so few moment of joy, but now everything seems to be okay," smiled Keskisalo.
Keskisalo will run at the European Team Championships in Bergen, Norway, next weekend and then fly to the Swiss mountains for a three-week training camp.
Hockey player Mannio in a stable form
Ari Mannio produced two good throws in the Javelin: 82.43m in the third and 83.03m in the sixth round. He was the only man to better the 80m line, as Latvia´s Eriks Rags reached 79.82.
Mannio is heading into the European U23 Championships in Kaunas in July and will not accept any place other than number one. Right now he´s a clear favourite with his season and pesonal best 85.70m.
"I still remember very well my feeling after placing fourth at the same championships in Debrecen two years ago. I am faster and more flexible than ever. That´s why 82 to 83 metres is quite easy now," Mannio said.
What about the IAAF World Championships in Berlin?
"Of course it would be nice to go there, as well, but Kaunas is my main goal this year."
By the way, Mannio is absolutely the only 80m Javelin thrower in the world who also plays ice hockey in an official league, the Finnish third division in this case.
"It's not dangerous, because I started at the age of three. I am going to continue playing in the next season, too," Mannio added.
Kivinen leaps long in the wind
Mikko Kivinen, 21, got a good burst of self confidence for U23 Europeans as he won the Men´s Long Jump with a windy 7.91m (+3.1 m/s) and a legal 7.72m. Petteri Lax, the silvermedallist at the European U23 Championships in 2007, set his SB 7.77m in the last round, but his jumps were techically far from ideal.
Kivinen improved his PB by one centimetre and was sure, he did not use all his capacity.
"I have had good jumps in the previous competitions this summer, but this was the first time that the weather and wind was good," said Kivinen.
Kivinen placed fourth at the European Junior Championships in Hengelo in 2007. In Kuortane he did not use all the attemps due to a slight cramp in his left calf.
Korpela comes closer to 70m
Merja Korpela set her personal best 69.00m in the Women´s Hammer Throw and, in addition to that, twice reached beyond her previous PB of 68.65 from 2007.
Korpela, 28, who took the bronze medal at the European Junior Championships in 1999, has in many years suffered from different ailments during the winter, but this year it's been different.
Korpela´s winning mark is only 63cm short of Mia Strömmer's Finnish record set in 2001. She is expected to be the first Finnish women over the 70m line.
"It´s getting closer step by step," said Korpela. "Avoiding illnesses and training a solid winter season is my secret for such good shape."
Sonck and Ruostekivi fast on the track
In the sprinting events, the happiest Finn was Juha Sonck, who win the 110m Hurdles in 13.78 seconds, only 0.03 seconds shy of his PB from 2006. Jarkko Ruostekivi, who had come back after a bad groin injury, won the 100m in 10.42.
Minna Nikkanen cleared 4.20m in the women's Pole Vault and then raised the bar to a new Finnish Record height 4.36m, but that was too much for her this time.
Other winners -
Men: 800m - Robert Rotkirch FIN 1:50.75, 400mH - Aarne Nirk EST 51.61, HJ - Martjin Nuyens NED 2.21, PV - Eemeli Salomäki FIN 5.55.
Women: 800m - Lilya Lobanova UKR 2:05.82, 3000m SC - Saara Skyttä FIN 10:21.13, HJ - Anna Iliystchenko EST 1.87, TJ - Svetlana Semyonova RUS 13.68 (+2.3)
Antti-Pekka Sonninen for the IAAF