The silver medalist in the 1500 meters was successful in his side trip, even though the end did not go in the best possible way. A successful training season promises a good season for the young runner.
20 years old Santtu Heikkinen made a splash at the international athletics indoor games in Luxembourg at the weekend, when he ran the 3000 meters to the fifth place in Finland’s all-time indoor statistics. Heikkinen lost to France, who won the race To Simon Denissel just under four seconds and was fifth with a time of 7:56.12.
Heikkinen knew that there would be a chance to run a hard time in the race. A speed aiming for a final time of slightly more than 7:45 had been ordered from the race hare. In the end, the run didn’t turn out to be so fast, but a fast-paced tight race.
– It wasn’t a competition according to plan, but I’m quite satisfied. In the last 200 meters, I was carrying quite badly, where you could see that it was only the opening race of the indoor season, Heikkinen analyzed his record-breaking run for Urheilu.
Heikkinen’s preparation for the hall opening went well during the three-week camp in Portugal. A successful training season has been behind us since autumn. The 20-year-old runner has been able to focus only on sports for the first time.
– It was a perfect preparation for that race, the runner sums up.
A clear target for development during the training season
The silver medalist of last summer’s 1500m Kaleva Games started his studies at the University of Turku School of Economics in the fall. Heikkinen has taken it easy on his studies, because his focus is completely on sports. Last season was good in light of the results, but not optimal overall according to the runner.
Heikkinen’s year included the army, and he also suffered minor injuries.
In the current training season, the focus has been on improving endurance. There has been much more speed endurance training than before.
– Speed resistance has been my weakest feature. Since the first weeks of autumn, I’ve been running a lot of speed endurance, Heikkinen opens.
The whole thing has remained under control, even though the emphasis of training is on the coach Brother Matti Rannan changed with. Maximum endurance and speed training have remained part of the program.
– I have been able to train more when there have been no adverse factors, says the athlete representing Lempäälä Kisa Athletics.
Collaborators and a functional support network receive praise from the athlete. In addition to Portugal, the runner has been able to camp in France and several times in Pajulahti.
Heikkinen’s indoor season continues already on Saturday in Manchester. In a week and a half, there will be a 1500 meter competition in Erfurt, Germany, and in three weeks, the Nordic Indoor Championships in Sweden.
– Erfurt and the PM halls should be in good shape. In Germany, my goal is to run the result limit of 3.37.4 in the European Championships, says Heikkinen.
He wants to reach a new level as an athlete this year. The goal of the summer is already clear.
– Breaking the Finnish record of 1500 meters is the biggest goal of the summer, Heikkinen adds and says that he is already looking forward to the summer 2024 Olympics in Paris.