Samuel Purola and Samuli Samuelsson are participating in the Jyväskylä GP competition. Another new Finnish record can be expected tonight.
Aino Paloniemi,
Laura Arffman
14:00•Updated 14:00
The domestic athletics GP season continues today in Jyväskylä. Broadcast at Areena at 17:50 and on TV2 at 18:30. During the competition, you can also vote for the best athlete of the evening and win a ticket package to the Swedish athletics match. A separate article about the vote will be published in ‘s digital services.
The athletics season continues today with the GP race in Jyväskylä. At the starting line, you can see the sprinters who achieved Finnish records during the season Samuel Purola and Samuli Samuelsson.
Purola competes in Jyväskylä on his side distance in 400 meters. Samuelsson is participating in the 100 meter race. In addition, both run in the Finnish relay team.
Samuelsson has experienced challenges after his 100 meter record run in Porvoo. Training has been difficult when there is currently no concrete time goal.
– I felt really empty. It’s what I’ve been aiming for all along and knew I could run it. Now that the record was gone, there was no longer that successful goal, Samuelsson told Urheilu.
Samuelsson’s next step is the European Championships in Munich and success in them, considering that the Jyväskylä GP competition plays an important role. Samuelsson last competed in Porvoo, and in addition to Jyväskylä, the 100-meter start is also scheduled for the Kaleva Games on the first weekend of August.
“It feels like this summer has never been so hard”
The last to break the Finnish record was Purola, who is currently the fastest Finn at 200 meters. Purolan SE was born in Sweden, just one week after Samuelsson’s record.
According to Purola, the 400-meter races have improved his sprint performances and provide a counterweight to the tougher 100- and 200-meter distances. Purola ran a 400-meter race the day before his Finnish record run, and also improved his record by completing a full lap.
– I feel like I have never run as hard this summer as after that run. I haven’t noticed any kind of fatigue since that race trip, Purola said.
Like Samuelsson, Purola aims for the European Championships in Munich with results rather than time goals in mind.
The new Finnish records increase the competition among Finnish runners, which is a good thing, according to Purola. Samuelsson currently also has at least one time goal outside of the 100-meter run.
– Fortunately, I have that second distance, 200 meters, where there is no record yet, so there is something to chase after, Samuelsson stated.
Another Finnish record?
Regarding the GP race in Jyväskylä, the runners place their highest expectations on the relay, for which Finland has nominated a high-level team. Together with Purola and Samuelsson in the 4 x 100 meter relay, the fourth place in the season’s domestic statistics for 100 meters will be shared by Eino Vuori and Oskari Lehtonen.
A new Finnish record is possible again. The current Finnish record of 38.92 is from the European Championships in Berlin in 2018. At that time, the relay team competed Eetu Rantala, Otto AhlforsOskari Lehtonen and Samuel Purola.
– We now have the strongest group in terms of time that we have ever had. If you change the game, we have a chance to break the four-year-old Finnish record, Purola estimates.
Purola is second in the 100 meter season statistics. Record holder Samuelsson also sees no limitations to the creation of a new Finnish record.
– With good changes, you can run the Finnish record. I don’t see any reason why not. We’re all in good shape.
The domestic athletics GP season continues today in Jyväskylä. Broadcast at Areena at 17:50 and on TV2 at 18:30.