Bronze medalist Lassi Etelätalo’s freezing reaction in the javelin final stunned the expert – “It really takes a lot”

Urheilu’s expert Jaakko Ojaniemi’s three picks from the European Athletics Championships. Ojaniemi’s excerpts from each race day can be read on the website and in the app.

Lassi Etelätalo once again showed his unimaginable stretching ability as he finally achieved the medal he had been chasing for a long time. Sports expert Jaakko Ojaniemi thought that Etelätalo was convincing in the javelin final from the beginning. With his very first throw, he guaranteed his place in the last three rounds.

Vitezslav Vesely knocked Etelätalo out of the medals eight years ago at the European Championships, and in the fifth round it looked like this would happen again, when the Czech Republic overtook Etelätalo. However, the Finnish thrower responded with his new record of 86.44.

– It was typical Lassi. He requires a small stimulus to be able to heal, Ojaniemi said.

– In order to be able to do such an act, you must first be in good shape. In addition to that, it requires good nerves, a good charge and a strong desire. It really takes a lot to improve your record by 1.5 meters in a place like that. Not many people can do it.

The 34-year-old Etelätalo has suffered from numerous injuries during his career. Konkari thrower told Urheilu that he is thinking about continuing his career after the season, but hopes to be able to play sports as long as the results are good. In Ojaniemi’s opinion, there is no reason why Etelätalo should not continue if health allows it. Especially now, when the first prize competition medal is in my pocket.

– He could continue his career more freely. There would be no more compulsion, you could just enjoy yourself.

Finland got one more point on the final day of the European Championships when Toni Kuusela finished fifth in the javelin race. Also Reetta Hurske was close to peak success, but he was eliminated as the last athlete from the 100m hurdles final.

In Ojaniemi’s opinion, both Kuusela and Hurske competed at their level this summer.

– Toni was able to twist the 80-meter one, even though he couldn’t make the best throws. Fifth is a tough ranking in the European Championships, especially when the final was of a surprisingly tough level. When you think about Toni’s season average, that was a good performance, well worth the points.

Hurske finished ninth in the semi-finals with a time of 12.95, while 12.87 was required for the final.

– Reeta’s start looked sharp and she got into the run well. It was a relatively intact run and a decent performance. I thought in advance that as long as the time starts with 12, then I can be relatively satisfied, Ojaniemi said and reminded that in previous European Championships, such a hard time has not been required for the final.

– In Europe, as in the world, progress has been made in women’s hurdles. The level is tough at the moment.

According to Jaakko Ojaniemi, the EC competitions in Munich were overall successful competitions. The stadium had a good atmosphere and the audience knew how to cheer on the athletes. The situation was also helped by the success of the host country, Germany, as the team finished second in the medal table after Great Britain.

According to Ojaniemi, the games were also a real jackpot for Finland, as the team won two gold, one silver and one bronze. In addition to the medals, Finland received five points. The last time Finland won four EC medals was 40 years ago at the Athens Games. Four years ago Finland did not get any medals and six years ago only one bronze.

– After six years without a medal, it was blown up all at once. And the value of these medals cannot be underestimated. The way the medals came, they were all hard performances. Top from Raita except everyone made their records and Top had a tactical run. There was no inflation in these games, Ojaniemi said.

Finland went to the Games with a rather large team of 68 athletes. Although some of the team had super successes, not everyone was satisfied with their performance.

Ojaniemi reminds that, for example, in the semi-finals of the 400-meter hurdles, he ran a new Finnish record Delay in Lehikoinen with a better final run there would even have been a medal seam. Similarly, the mouka women’s performances in the final were underwhelming. Despite this, both Lehikoinen and Silja Kosonen and Krista Tervo got into the points.

– Then there were those who missed quite a lot from the top level of the summer. They were often athletes who had to fight for ranking points. Back then, they didn’t have the opportunity to schedule their peak fitness for the games in the same way, and it showed in the result level.

However, in Ojaniemi’s opinion, Finland should choose athletes who meet all the criteria for prestigious competitions.

– For some athletes, of course, it’s just to get experience, but it can be important in terms of experience and the future.

All of Finland’s medalists were athletes who already have a lot of prestigious competition experience.

Overall, the progress of Finnish athletics has been so poor for the last decade that the Finns’ chance of success has been strongly doubted at times. Ojaniemi thinks it is interesting to see what the success of Munich will do for the sport.

– Athletics also lives on medals and if there are no medals from the Games, it will not be remembered by people. Now there were a lot of medals and also performances that certainly left a strong memory, Ojaniemi said.

– I believe that this will be reflected in the future. It helps athletes get better resources and is certainly reflected in the number of enthusiasts. Children and young people get new role models and get excited to invest in the hobby more and more.