Andreas Thorkildsen with his lucky hat in Split (© Jon Mulkeen)
A few weeks after ending his season with a victory at the IAAF / VTB Bank Continental Cup in Split, Samsung Diamond League Ambassador Andreas Thorkildsen reflects on what he regards as his best season ever.
"It seems like it was only a few weeks ago that I opened my season, and now it has come to an end. I had the pleasure of closing my season at the IAAF / VTB Bank Continental Cup in Split. The javelin took place at the same time as the women’s high jump, so there was an electric atmosphere in the stadium.
"The competition was very light-hearted too and those who were in the stadium or watching on TV may have noticed some interesting head gear being worn by us javelin throwers! New Zealand thrower Stuart Farquhar asked me to bring two authentic Norwegian beanie hats with me to Split, as he can’t get them where he lives. So I did – only the hats I brought along were the wrong ones. They were just two ugly hats.
"When I showed them to him, we decided that we’d all wear the hats for the introduction to the crowd, and then we each took it in turn to take our last throw while wearing the hat. It seemed to work well for me, because I threw a winning 89.26m on my final throw, a competition record. I won’t be keeping the hat as a lucky charm though, because Stuart now has them.
"The performance in Split was a lot more than I expected. At this stage of the season I was running off fumes, but it just shows that the javelin is an event that relies heavily on technique. You can feel physically tired, but if you get the technique right then you can still throw far. The week before I had another good competition in Brussels, throwing 89.88m – my second best throw of the year.
"All in all, I have had a pretty good season – I have won the Samsung Diamond League, the European Championships, the Continental Cup, set a world-leading mark, and have lost just two competitions. In terms of winning record and consistency, I’d say this has been my best season. 2006 was also a great year for me because I set my PB that year – it’s really a close call.
"The competitive part to the season may have come to an end for me, but I can’t rest just yet. I now have a lot of promotional work to do with my sponsors and then I’ll be able to finally get around to having a break. And then before long I’ll be starting my training preparations for the 2011 season. Time flies!
"Until next time,"
Andreas
"It seems like it was only a few weeks ago that I opened my season, and now it has come to an end. I had the pleasure of closing my season at the IAAF / VTB Bank Continental Cup in Split. The javelin took place at the same time as the women’s high jump, so there was an electric atmosphere in the stadium.
"The competition was very light-hearted too and those who were in the stadium or watching on TV may have noticed some interesting head gear being worn by us javelin throwers! New Zealand thrower Stuart Farquhar asked me to bring two authentic Norwegian beanie hats with me to Split, as he can’t get them where he lives. So I did – only the hats I brought along were the wrong ones. They were just two ugly hats.
"When I showed them to him, we decided that we’d all wear the hats for the introduction to the crowd, and then we each took it in turn to take our last throw while wearing the hat. It seemed to work well for me, because I threw a winning 89.26m on my final throw, a competition record. I won’t be keeping the hat as a lucky charm though, because Stuart now has them.
"The performance in Split was a lot more than I expected. At this stage of the season I was running off fumes, but it just shows that the javelin is an event that relies heavily on technique. You can feel physically tired, but if you get the technique right then you can still throw far. The week before I had another good competition in Brussels, throwing 89.88m – my second best throw of the year.
"All in all, I have had a pretty good season – I have won the Samsung Diamond League, the European Championships, the Continental Cup, set a world-leading mark, and have lost just two competitions. In terms of winning record and consistency, I’d say this has been my best season. 2006 was also a great year for me because I set my PB that year – it’s really a close call.
"The competitive part to the season may have come to an end for me, but I can’t rest just yet. I now have a lot of promotional work to do with my sponsors and then I’ll be able to finally get around to having a break. And then before long I’ll be starting my training preparations for the 2011 season. Time flies!
"Until next time,"
Andreas
