Heli Koivula jumping at the 2001 World Championships (© Getty Images)
The national championships (9-11 Aug) which took place in the Finnish capital’s 1952 Olympic stadium, the venue for the 2005 World Championships, was highlighted by a national record in the women’s javelin.
30 year-old Paula Huhtaniemi threw a first round effort on Sunday (10 Aug) of 64.90m to improve Taina Kolkkala’s 64.06m national mark which was set in 2000. Huhtaniemi’s previous personal best had come earlier this summer with a 63.99m release on 14 June.
Huhtaniemi’s performance soundly beat European bronze medallist Mikaela Ingberg - who is nursing an injury - into second place (58.83), and is the second longest throw in the world in 2003 behind Tatyana Shikolenko’s 66.00m which was established on the same day at the Russian championships.
With Ingberg’s 63.55m (13 July) placing her sixth on the world list for 2003, the women’s javelin offers a small glimmer of hope for the Finnish javelin tradition at the forthcoming World championships, after an exceptionally low key season in the men’s event. World silver medallist Aki Parviainen who won the men’s title yesterday (Monday 11 Aug) with 82.91m is the only spearman selected for Paris, and he has been facing his own injury and technical problems throughout the summer.
In the other top line events at the three day championships which closed on Monday, there was a 20.30m win for Tepa Reinikainen in the men’s Shot which beat Ville Tiisanoja 's 20.23m (second). Olympic champion Arsi Harju continued to be way off any sort of form with a fourth place finish with 19.16m. Harju has been selected as reserve in the four man Finnish Shot Put squad for Paris - Reinikainen, Tissanoja, Conny Karlsson, Harju.
Former World Junior champion Olli-Pekka Karjalainen threw a personal season’s best of 80.20m in the men’s Hammer.
The only other Finnish athlete who should realistically have any real bearing on the displacement of World championships medals this summer, European silver medallist Heli Koivula-Kruger won the women’s Triple Jump with a leap of 14.02m on her third attempt. It was just 1 cm ahead of Natalia Kilpelainen’s 14.01m which came in the previous round.
Koivula’s season’s best and national record, stands at 14.39m, and the fifth place finisher in the 2001 Edmonton Worlds will be expecting to improve in Paris.
Full results from the Finnish championships – click here
Finnish team for Paris
Event – athlete – club – qualification performance
Men:
100m: Markus Pöyhönen - Helsingin Kisa-Veikot 10.26.
110m Hurs: Matti Niemi - Turun Urheiluliitto 13.57.
400m Hurs: Ari-Pekka Lattu - Lahden Ahkera 49.36.
800m: Wilson Kirwa - Lahden Ahkera 1:46.50.
3000m Steeplechase: Jukka Keskisalo - Joensuun Kataja 8:22.55.
Maraton: Jussi Utriainen - Lahden Ahkera 2:13.10.
High Jump: Oskari Frösén - IF Länken, Kristiinankaupunki 2.28.
Pole Vault: Matti Mononen - Imatran Urheilijat 5.65.
Shot: Tepa Reinikainen - Kangasniemen Kalske 20.40.
Shot: Ville Tiisanoja - Kenttäurheilijat-58, Vantaa 20.23.
Shot: Conny Karlsson - Pargas IF 20.60.
Shot: Arsi Harju - Perhon Kiri 19.76.
Hammer: Olli-Pekka Karjalainen - Töysän Veto 80.20.
Javelin: Aki Parviainen - Joensuun Kataja 83.30.
Women:
200m: Johanna Manninen - Nurmon Urheilijat 22.97.
Long Jump: Johanna Halkoaho - Suodenniemen Urheilijat 6.63.
Triple Jump: Heli Koivula - Kauhajoen Karhu 14.39.
Hammer: Sini Pöyry - Kaukasten Voima 67.64.
Javelin: Paula Huhtaniemi - Noormarkun Nopsa 64.90.
Javelin: Mikaela Ingberg - Vasa Idrottssällskap 63.55.
Javelin: Taina Kolkkala - Porin Tarmo 61.96.
