Paavo Nurmi - 1924 Olympics (© Getty Images)
Helsinki, FinlandDespite a population of just 5.2 million inhabitants, Finland belongs to the superpowers of athletics.
Finnish track and field athletes have won 114 Olympic medals - 49 golds, 35 silvers and 30 bronzes - since 1906 when they competed at the Olympic Games for the first time.
The large amount of those medals were won in the 1920s and 30s, but even last year this tiny nation punched above its demographic weight on the athletics world stage, its men’s team was IAAF Ranked as the 8th best in the world (women 19th), and the combined team, IAAF World Ranked 15th.
Furthermore, at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Finland’s overall total is 19 medals (6 gold; 7 silver; 6 bronze), and at the European Championships she has amassed 82 medals (30 gold; 27 silver; 25 bronze).
Last year Finland became the first country to host the IAAF World Championships in Athletics for a second time (1983 and 2005). Well, maybe the weather in Helsinki was not very sunny last August, but from the point of organisation Finland showed once again, what the tradition and skill of hosting big events was all about.
Traditions - yes, Finland has them, and this year the Finnish Athletics Federation, SUL, one of the founding members of the IAAF, celebrates its own 100th anniversary, having been born on 11 March 1906.
The 100th anniversary will be celebrated in many ways at the main Finnish competitions during this summer season.
The Finnish Championships, ‘Kalevan Kisat’, will be held 21 - 23 July in Jyväskylä, where the member clubs of the SUL will be in the spotlight.
“The clubs have been doing the most valuable basic work during these hundred years; organising training facilities and competitions, taking care of their athletes and working together for our big challenges like the World and European Championships held in Helsinki. There would not be Finnish athletics and athletes without them,” confirmed Kari Saarinen, General Secretary of the SUL.
The Finland vs. Sweden fixture is the most legendary international athletics match in the world and so it’s quite natural to nominate it as an official 100th anniversary competition. This year Finland - Sweden will be held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in 25 – 26 August.
The first Finland – Sweden match took place in Helsinki in 1925. Due to the emergence of too much nationalism there was a break in this competition between 1932 and 1939, and the Second World War gave something even more serious to think about from 1941 - 1944, but since 1945 these neighbours have been meeting every summer.
A big anniversary gala will be held in November and the history book of the SUL, written by Seppo Martiskainen, will be published before the end of this year, as well.
“We want to celebrate well, but most of the time will be spent on the normal working of the track and field. The best way to appreciate our history would be to have a good success at the European Championships in Gothenburg in August,” comments Saarinen.
Four years ago Finland got three medals including one gold in Munich at the last European Championships. The gold was almost a total surprise for everyone, as Janne Holmen won the men’s Marathon. Janne´s mother Nina Holmen had became the first Finnish woman to take a European gold when winning the 3000m in Rome back in 1974.
Saarinen believes that the whole of Finnish athletics got a huge burst of inspiration last summer as Tommi Evilä leapt to the Long Jump bronze medal at the Helsinki World Championships after a spectacular battle of centimetres.
After getting no medals at the Paris World Championships in 2003 and Athens Olympic Games in 2004, the first time this had occured in their history at either global event, Evilä’s medal was a very important boost to morale.
“The spirit is high now and we have a very good reputation also outside Finland. When we searched for new Federation national coaches last autumn, we got about 130 applications from abroad. We appointed three top foreign coaches who have already now brought some fresh ideas.
“We believe in our future despite the problems we have faced during the last 10 - 15 years. We made big changes to our organisation after the Helsinki World Champs and for sure they will improve the efficiency of working with the youth and helping us to secure and encourage more promising athletes.”
Antti-Pekka Sonninen for the IAAF
