Tero Pitkamaki of Finland competes in the men's javelin throw qualification round (© Getty Images)
Former World champion Tero Pitkämäki took his last chance to get onto the Finnish Javelin trio for the European Championships in Helsinki by winning the traditional Javelin Carnival competition in Pihtipudas on Sunday (17)with his season's best mark of 83.87m.
Pitkämäki had thrown only 78.86m this season and suffered from a bacterial illness. He was in a danger of being dropped from a Finnish squad for an international championships for the first time since 2003.
The Finnish Athletics had promised to select the winner in Pihtipudas, if his mark would be at least 84.00m. Pitkämäki, the World champion in 2007, did not quite manage that, but he showed very promising improving shape.
Ari Mannio opened with 81.27m, and Teemu Wirkkala with 81.31m, but Antti Ruuskanen took the lead with 81.72m in the first round. Wirkkala improved to 81.88m in the second and it seemed that Pitkämäki was still in trouble.
The third round changed the direction as Pitkämäki set 80.59m - his first beyond 80 metres in more than a year. Lassi Etelätalo, who threw 84.14m in 2011 before a groin operation, reached 80.66m, but both Wirkkala and Ruuskanen produced fouls in rounds two through five.
In the fifth round Pitkämäki found something from his good old form and produced his winning throw. Mannio's response was a respectable 83.63m, but the competition was not over, yet. Etelätalo threw 82.98m at his last attempt and took a surprising third place as nobody else improved.
Pitkämäki has been training a lot with his second coach, the World record holder Jan Zelezny, this season. Some things in his training have changed, and the throwing technique had not been clicking until now. Also Pitkämäki's self confidence seems to be back.
"This was not a perfect throw, but it was really, really fun to produce a decent throw after such a long time," he said. "Finally I have something to smile for! Of course this was a very important victory, but above that I'm happy for my result. After Oslo I did not touch the Javelin for a week.
The Women's competition in Pihtipudas was won by World Junior champion Sanni Utriainen, who threw 55.94 in the last round.
Ollikainen leaps windy 8.32 and legal 8.05
Another top event in the Finnish Athletics Federation's traditional carnival weekend was the Men's Long Jump in Jämsä on Saturday (16) in very warm and good wind conditions.
Roni Ollikainen leapt 8.01m in the second round, but rounds three and four were like the calm before the storm. In the fifth round Mikko Kivinen, the European U23 bronze medallist in 2009, jumped a personal best 8.02m, his first over eight metres. Then Ollikainen, 21, leapt a huge 8.32m, but unfortunately the wind was a bit too good: +2.2 m/s. Anyway, this is the third longest jump ever from a Finn. Tommi Evilä has set twice his national record of 8.22m plus a windy 8.41m and Jarmo Kärnä had jumped a windy 8.36m. Evilä placed third in Jämsä after improving to 7.99m in the last round. Ollikainen, sixth at the U23 Europeans in 2011 and fifth at the World Juniors in 2008, decided to do it again and he did: a PB of 8.05m.
It looks as though Finland has three potential candidates - Ollikainen, Kivinen and Evilä - to fight for the Long Jump medals at the European Championships in Helsinki.
"It feels almost unreal to produce a jump like that, though I knew I was I good shape!" admitted Ollikainen, who is coached by Harri Laiho and Arto Bryggare, the former Olympic and World championship medallist in the 110m Hurdles.
Barcelona hot shot
In the Hämeenkyrö Shot Put Carnival Arttu Kangas showed that he has to be taken very seriously at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona in July. Kangas set his PB of 20.31m with an 6kg shot to win the U20 competition.
Antti-Pekka Sonninen for the IAAF
Pitkämäki had thrown only 78.86m this season and suffered from a bacterial illness. He was in a danger of being dropped from a Finnish squad for an international championships for the first time since 2003.
The Finnish Athletics had promised to select the winner in Pihtipudas, if his mark would be at least 84.00m. Pitkämäki, the World champion in 2007, did not quite manage that, but he showed very promising improving shape.
Ari Mannio opened with 81.27m, and Teemu Wirkkala with 81.31m, but Antti Ruuskanen took the lead with 81.72m in the first round. Wirkkala improved to 81.88m in the second and it seemed that Pitkämäki was still in trouble.
The third round changed the direction as Pitkämäki set 80.59m - his first beyond 80 metres in more than a year. Lassi Etelätalo, who threw 84.14m in 2011 before a groin operation, reached 80.66m, but both Wirkkala and Ruuskanen produced fouls in rounds two through five.
In the fifth round Pitkämäki found something from his good old form and produced his winning throw. Mannio's response was a respectable 83.63m, but the competition was not over, yet. Etelätalo threw 82.98m at his last attempt and took a surprising third place as nobody else improved.
Pitkämäki has been training a lot with his second coach, the World record holder Jan Zelezny, this season. Some things in his training have changed, and the throwing technique had not been clicking until now. Also Pitkämäki's self confidence seems to be back.
"This was not a perfect throw, but it was really, really fun to produce a decent throw after such a long time," he said. "Finally I have something to smile for! Of course this was a very important victory, but above that I'm happy for my result. After Oslo I did not touch the Javelin for a week.
The Women's competition in Pihtipudas was won by World Junior champion Sanni Utriainen, who threw 55.94 in the last round.
Ollikainen leaps windy 8.32 and legal 8.05
Another top event in the Finnish Athletics Federation's traditional carnival weekend was the Men's Long Jump in Jämsä on Saturday (16) in very warm and good wind conditions.
Roni Ollikainen leapt 8.01m in the second round, but rounds three and four were like the calm before the storm. In the fifth round Mikko Kivinen, the European U23 bronze medallist in 2009, jumped a personal best 8.02m, his first over eight metres. Then Ollikainen, 21, leapt a huge 8.32m, but unfortunately the wind was a bit too good: +2.2 m/s. Anyway, this is the third longest jump ever from a Finn. Tommi Evilä has set twice his national record of 8.22m plus a windy 8.41m and Jarmo Kärnä had jumped a windy 8.36m. Evilä placed third in Jämsä after improving to 7.99m in the last round. Ollikainen, sixth at the U23 Europeans in 2011 and fifth at the World Juniors in 2008, decided to do it again and he did: a PB of 8.05m.
It looks as though Finland has three potential candidates - Ollikainen, Kivinen and Evilä - to fight for the Long Jump medals at the European Championships in Helsinki.
"It feels almost unreal to produce a jump like that, though I knew I was I good shape!" admitted Ollikainen, who is coached by Harri Laiho and Arto Bryggare, the former Olympic and World championship medallist in the 110m Hurdles.
Barcelona hot shot
In the Hämeenkyrö Shot Put Carnival Arttu Kangas showed that he has to be taken very seriously at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona in July. Kangas set his PB of 20.31m with an 6kg shot to win the U20 competition.
Antti-Pekka Sonninen for the IAAF