Vanessa Vandy takes the Pole Vault title at 2008 Finnish nationals (© Mika Kanerva)
Esko Mikkola’s 80.06m javelin throw and an exciting pursuit competition in the men’s 2000m were the best moments at the final meeting of the Finnish 4Athletics GP series which took place in the Finnish capital tonight (26).
Mikkola, the Finnish Championships bronze medallist this season, won the Javelin competition at the Eläintarha Stadium by 1.31 metres ahead of Harri Haatainen.
However, it was not enough to secure Mikkola a place in the Finnish team against Sweden in Helsinki next weekend, with the nomination to replace Beijing fifth placer Teemu Wirkkala, who has a minor thigh injury, going instead to Antti Ruuskanen who has a personal best from this year of 87.33. Ruuskanen has himself been injured for most of this summer.
The three-man javelin squad will be completed at the match by the Olympic bronze medallist Tero Pitkämäki and 4th placer Tero Järvenpää.
The world famous annual dual national match between these Nordic rivals takes place Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August, in the 1952 Olympic stadium which is next door to the Eläintarha stadium.
Sirkka-Liisa Kivinen of Estonia won the Women’s Long Jump with a 6.42m leap, and Finland's Juho-Matti Pimiä leapt a windy 7.74m in the men’s competition. So Pimiä will jump for Finland in the Sweden-match along with the Finnish record holder (8.22) Tommi Evilä and Finnish champion Petteri Lax (8.11) whose PBs have each come this summer.
Two very promising young athletes had a very tight competition in the Women’s Pole Vault. Minna Nikkanen, 20, 2007 European Junior champion and 2008 Beijing Olympian Vanessa Vandy, 19, both jumped 4.10m, with Nikkanen winning on countback. These two stars for the future have PBs of 4.35 (Nikkanen) and 4.31m (Vandy).
The men’s 2000m in Helsinki was the last part of the long distance runner’s ‘Tour de Run’ in which results from the three previous races of the series were put together and the runners started according to that order similar to a Nordic skiing cross country race.
Jussi Utriainen and Matti Räsänen started with a one second time difference and ran together until Räsänen took the victory with a fast last 200 metres spurt. Räsänen clocked 5:20.71 and Utriainen, the Finnish champion at 5000 and 10,000m, ran 5:23.86.
Antti-Pekka Sonninen for the IAAF
Click here for full team lists (3 per country / per event) for both Finland and Sweden for this weekend’s match
