According to sprint coach Petteri Jouste, Samuel Purola has the potential to break the 400-meter Finnish record in the future. Purola says that he hasn’t done any acid moves typical of the sport.
On the weekend, will show the athletics Kaleva competitions on TV2, Areena and Puhee.
JOENSUU. Samuli Samuelsson and Samuel Purola have shown in the summer that the Finnish men’s sprint is doing better than well. Samuelsson has set the Finnish record for 100 meters (10.16) and Purola for 200 meters (20.45).
Even the men’s 400 meters – a distance that has been in the bottom mud in Finland for years – has seen flashes of light for a long time.
Viljami Kaasalainen ran the hardest Finnish track lap in over 30 years in Jyväskylä at the end of July with a time of 46.54.
Purola, 22, known from fast distances, ran his record 46.80 in the same race, although he clearly froze at the end. The freezing is understandable, because it was only Purola’s fourth track lap jerk of his career.
On July 26, there was a sprint coach at the track in Jyväskylä Petteri Jouste. Jouste clocked Väliajat Purola’s run. Purola ran the first 200 meters in no less than 21.4, the 300 meter Intermediate time was 33.1.
– At that point, at 300 meters, you knew that the man was going to stop. With a better speed distribution, Purola would have already run to the surface of 46 seconds, the experienced coach tells Urheilu.
The Finnish record for 400 meters is 45.49. The record is ancient, from 1972 and Markku Kukkoahon on behalf of.
Jouste believes that Purola has the potential to break even Kukkoaho’s SE in the next few years.
– There is a chance if Purola’s 200 meter record is even better. Times of 46 or a little less do not require special training for the track lap. 400 meters is a speed event. Fast 200-meter runners run around Kukkoaho’s time or faster, Jouste estimates.
Watch the top 400 meter races of Kaasalainen and Purola from Jyväskylä from July in the video below. The story continues after the video.
Could 400 meters be an even better distance for Purola?
– Samuel is unlikely to become a 400 meter runner. He is quite heavy for purely 400 meters, where economic characteristics matter. If he no longer went ahead in 200 meters, Purola could move to 400 meters, Jouste answers.
Purola is not afraid of acids
Purola says that he has run 400 meters this season only for training purposes.
– The journey has also gone well, even though I haven’t done a lot of acid pulls, Purola says.
Purola stresses that his main event is still 200 meters. A runner from Oulu has a chance to reach the finals in August’s European Championships in half a lap of the track.
The runner still admits that going under 46 seconds on a track lap is interesting. He has already improved on last year’s time by almost a second.
– You can’t deny that. It is clear that if I ran more 400m races, the time would start to improve. Under 46 seconds is completely possible. You still have to try which is the best speed distribution for you.
Purola, like Kaasalainen, has set out with no prejudices to try the track circuit from the bottom of the sprints.
– As a fast runner, I’m not really afraid of acids. From the final of the 100-meter Kaleva Games, I was the only one who dared to go to the finish line with 400 meters, says Purola.
In the years 2011–2021, no Finnish male runner ran 400 meters under 47 seconds. This summer, not only Purola and Kaasalainen have broken the limit Eljas Aalto (46.92).
Purola is chasing the Finnish championship in 200 meters on Sunday in Joensuu. The men’s 400 meters final will be run on Saturday, where Viljami Kaasalainen will seek his first WC gold in the track circuit.