Then there is “Finnkampen”

25 August 2002 – Kaisa Bergqvist’s 2.01m performance was the individual highlight of the famous annual - two day - dual meet between Finland and Sweden, which was held 23-24 August in Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium, and which produced team victories for the Finnish men and Swedish women.

Once upon a time - actually not that very long time ago - the great bulk of international athletics activities consisted of matches between national teams. For those few athletes not lucky enough to go to the Olympics (every fourth year) or to the Continental Championships (also every fourth year) these matches provided the almost only opportunity to experience international competition.

Of course there were some international invitational meets but they were very few and far between until the late 1970’s. But then the “circuits” gradually started to grow and just as gradually they squeezed the international matches out of the calendar. The just about only “remnant” now is the European Cup, but that has also been forced to shrink from the old 3-rounds to a 1-round format.

Then there is “Finnkampen”!

Inaugurated back in 1925 this yearly match between neighbours and athletic arch-rivals Sweden and Finland has managed to survive. And it has not just survived, it has actually managed to keep - among both the athletes and the general public in the two nations - its position as one of the true sporting highlights of the year.

Despite live TV broadcasts - with superb viewing figures - the stands are traditionally packed by fans who have no problem keeping their enthusiasm going for some four hours of competition per day. The only slight change in the modern era is that the rivalry in the stands has become much more good-humoured. You are cheering for your own athletes but you don’t anymore boo or whistle their rivals.

Actually top performances achieve the same kind of support and acclaim regardless of nationality. When the match this year was held in the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki the “Swedish jumping brigade” headed by Kajsa Bergqvist and Christian Olsson must have felt they had competed on home soil. And they paid back by doing much, much more than what was necessary to secure maximum points for their team.

Olsson, still somewhat uncertain after the heel injury that bothered him in Zurich and that forced him to cancel from the national championships, effectively won the triple jump event by his super-cautious 16.63 opener. But he himself was not content by such a mark, so after resting for two rounds he came back bounding to a more “respectable” 17.31. And the next day he returned as a long jumper scoring valuable points for the team by finishing second!

Bergqvist had her high jump win already secured after two jumps at 1.83 and 1.88, with her tights still on. She could then have called it quits, claiming that it had been a long season and that she had to save energy for some remaining meets. But instead she treated the spectators to brilliant 1.96 and 2.01 clearances (tights now removed) before finishing off with three attempts at 2.06. A couple of which would have been good enough for 2.04 or 2.05 clearances!

Absolute world class high jumping was also provided by Stefan Holm and Staffan Strand who both - after securing their 6^th straight double victory in this match by clearing 2.30 with substantial margins - went for 2.36! Their attempts were more than “respectable”, especially Stefan’s third and last, where the bar just as well could have remained on the supports after an oh-so-slight touch.

“World class” is an appropriate tag also on Patrik Kristiansson’s pole vaulting. Taking 5.30, 5.50 and 5.70 with huge margins on his first attempts, then a new national record 5.85 with centimeters to spare on his second attempt and finally trying and failing at 6.01 (1 cm above Rodion Gataullin’s Stadium record) though his two first attempts were “decent” to say the least.

The Finnish stars certainly didn’t disappoint anybody in the crowd either. Shot put trio Ville Tiisanoja, Arsi Harju and Tepa Reinikainen all surpassed the 20m-line, with Tiisanoja the winner at 20.56. Hammer thrower Olli-Pekka Karjalainen twice grazed the 80m-line with 79.35 the winning distance. Surprise Munich triple jump medallist Heli Koivula put out a string of 14-plus jumps topped by a 14.34.

And “of course” it was a Finnish 1-2-3 in the national parade event the javelin throw for both the men (headed by Aki Parviainen’s 82.12) and the women (Mikaela Ingberg 62.36).

But despite all those brilliant efforts by the star athletes: The real secret of “Finnkampen” is that it is not only about the stars. With three athletes per nation per event, the final outcome is just as much dependent upon the often anonymous second and third string athletes and their ability to rise to the occasion and get that extra unexpected point.

In Finnish this ability to fight until your last breath for every centimetre or hundredth of a second is called “sisu” and in Swedish “jävlaranamma”. There are always lots of both demonstrated during these matches and as such the statistical projections for the match based on yearly best marks are upset more often than not. Last year in Göteborg, Sweden won the men’s match by 33 points - this year it was Finland winning by 35!

Such a swing might seem awkward but if you break it down you find out that the explanation is simply which nation managed to show the greatest sisu/jävlaranamma in all those numerous encounters for third or fourth or fifth place - between one individual Finn and one individual Swede - that make up the match. “Finnkampen” is an occasion where the unsung heroes are just as important as the acclaimed stars.

Those stars don’t mind sharing the limelight, in fact they enjoy the meet and the team atmosphere. Their attitude is well summoned up by high jump winner Staffan Strand:

“Even if “Finnkampen” isn’t the most important meet of the year it certainly has a very special place in my heart and it is always great fun to participate. The team format makes it special as the focus is on scoring points rather than individual marks.”

What this unique meet manages to bring out of the athletes was illustrated in many ways in Helsinki:

* In the women’s 400m all six athletes ran new personal best times!!

* Finnish long distance aces Annemari Sandell and Samuli Vasala who both had had sub-par 2002´s after injury problems, now rose to the occasion both claiming victorious doubles at 5000m/10000m.

* When 1500m winner Lena Nilsson fell with less than 300m to go in the 800m she bounced back on her feet again starting to chase the others. Despite losing all momentum and several seconds (at least four?) she did indeed catch one opponent finishing in a very credible 2:06.96!

* New Swedish national favourite Carolina Klüft contributed a two day pentathlon consisting of 100m (2^nd in new PB), 200m (4^th), 100m hurdles (5^th), high jump (3^rd) and long jump (1^st).

The final outcome with the Finnish men and the Swedish women winning provides the perfect setting for the 63^rd edition of “Finnkampen” to be hosted next summer by Sweden as both nations will be hungry for revenge and for retaining supremacy. So the future of this international match - the only “living” one in the athletics world - looks just as exciting as it legendary history.

Especially as the legacy is continuously implanted into every new generation of Finnish and Swedish athletes through the U19 match held every year in conjunction with the senior match. The youngsters compete in the afternoon before attending the “Big Match” and absorbing its unique magical atmosphere. Something that is bound to make them permanently addicted to the “Finnkampen”!

Leading Results -

FINLAND vs SWEDEN
Helsinki, FIN 23-24 August

MEN

Final score: 1) Finland 223, 2) Sweden 187

100m (0.0): Tommi Hartonen F 10.48, Markus Pöyhönen F 10.48.
200m (-0.5): T Hartonen 20.81.
400m: Johan Wissman S 46.17.
800m: Rizak Dirshe S
1500m: Juha Kukkano F 3:54.66.
5000m: Samuli Vasala F 13:45.58.
10,000m: S Vasala 28:45.83.
3000mSt: Kim Bergdahl F 8:32.50.
110mH (+0.2): Robert Kronberg S 13.63.
400mH: Janne Mäkelä F 49.59 NR, Mikael Jakobsson S 49.88.
HJ: Staffan Strand S 2.30, Stefan Holm S 2.30, Oskari Frösén F 2.26.
PV: Patrik Kristiansson S 5.85 NR, Oscar Janson S 5.55, Matti Mononen F 5.50.
LJ: Niklas Rorarius F 7.97/+0.4, Christian Olsson S 7.69/+0.1.
TJ: C Olsson 17.31/+2.0.
SP: Ville Tiisanoja F 20.56, Arsi Harju F 20.23, Tepa Reinikainen F 20.12.
DT: Timo Tompuri F 62.46, Mika Loikkanen F 61.99.
HT: Olli-Pekka Karjalainen F 79.35, David Söderberg F 74.84, Bengt Johansson S 73.99.
JT: Aki Parviainen F 82.12, Jarkko Koski-Vähälä F 80.64, Kimm Kinnunen F 77.72.
4x100m: Finland 39.49.
4x400m: Finland 3:08.41.

WOMEN

Final score: 1) Sweden 215½, 2) Finland 192½

100m (0.0): Johanna Manninen 11.56, Carolina Klüft S 11.69.
200m (-0.2): J Manninen 23.46, ... 4) C Klüft 23.84.
400m: Lena Udd S 52.32.
800m: Suvi Myllymäki F 2:04.53.
1500m: Lena Nilsson S 4:19.35.
5000m: Annemari Sandell F 16:11.49.
10,000m: A Sandell 33:41.18.
3000mSt: Ida Nilsson S 10:09.19.
100mH (-0.1): Susanna Kallur S 13.19, ... 5) C Klüft 13.64.
400mH: Nadja Petersen S 57.11.
HJ: Kajsa Bergqvist S 2.01, ... 3) C Klüft 1.83.
PV: Kirsten Belin S 4.43 NR.
LJ: C Klüft 6.46w/+2.4 (6.45/+0.4), Heli Koivula F 6.43/+1.0.
TJ: H Koivula 14.34/-0.6.
SP: Helena Engman S 16.45.
DT: Anna Söderberg S 59.33, Tiina Kankaanpää F 59.02.
HT: Cecilia Nilsson S 65.14 NR, Sini Pöyry F 64.21.
JT: Mikaela Ingberg F 62.36, Taina Kolkkala F 60.88.
4x100m: Sweden 44.63.
4x400m: Sweden 3:33.30.