“Don’t let young people follow your example” – see here the medalists of the opening day of the athletics championship halls

Broadcast from the second competition day of the SM halls on Sunday at Areena from 9:55 am. Compilation of Sunday’s games on TV2 at 17:15.

Viljami Kaasalainen lived up to expectations, even when it was painful, at the indoor athletics championships in Helsinki’s Liikuntamylly on Saturday, when he ran the 400 meters to the second indoor championship of his career.

Last year in Kuopio the gold came off at 47.18 and now the clock stopped at 48.59.

After the run, Kaasalainen, who represents the Jyväskylä Field Athletes, revealed that he had already seriously considered withdrawing from the competition when he suddenly felt worse.

– I’ve been in a little heat for four days, I wasn’t feeling the best. Maybe you can hear the voice, Kaasalainen began.

– There was no sense in this, don’t let the young people follow your example. If you are sick, you should not compete. It could have gone badly…

In the summer of 2020, Kaasalainen won the SM gold in the 100-meter run. Since then, he has focused mainly on 400 meters. The project has progressed as expected, and this season Kaasalainen is already aiming to break under 46 seconds.

In the end, Lieton Parma won the SM silver Tuomas Lehtonen (48.85) and Tampere’s Pyrinnön took the bronze Jere Haapalainenwhich clocked the same time.

In the women’s 400 meters, the championship also went to the expected address. Jyväskylä’s field athletes Aino Pulkkinen however challenged Viivi Lehikonen seriously. In the end, Lehikoinen, representing HIFK, took the gold with a time of 52.96, while Pulkkinen crossed the finish line two hundredths later.

– It was a really tight and different race from what I had thought. I usually have a pretty good ending, I trusted that it would last and it did quite well, assured Lehikoinen.

A week ago, Lehikoinen ran his new record of 52.52 in the 400 meters. He told On Instagram (you will switch to another service) earlier this week that he was very surprised by the record, because he had a hamstring injury at the end of the year, problems with his front thigh and still had bronchitis at Christmas.

He said that he was already of the opinion that it would not be worthwhile to compete in the government period. Now, however, he was able to go under 53 seconds again.

Recovering from a heel injury Nooralotta Neziri kiri in 60 meters for SM silver. Anna Pursiainen took the SM gold by seven hundredths with a time of 7.39.

– I expected a little harder. Last weekend was the first race, and after getting so much out there, I think it wasn’t the best day today. It was a bit of a drag when there is so little running practice down there after surgery. I’m really satisfied, I think I was third in the statistics and now silver, at least I didn’t underperform, Neziri representing JKU was happy.

In fences, Neziri announced that he would compete at the end of May.

– In the middle of December, I got to put on the spikes for the first time. We decided to get the running in shape and the body in such a way that it can withstand smooth running first. Next week is still rest, but then we will start training normally, so I will take the fences with me, Neziri said.

In any case, the return to the racetrack warmed Nezir’s mind.

– It was a brave but good move to run a couple of races. This really gave me a lot of faith, I never run as well in training as I do in competitions. Definitely, this promises really good things and gives a signal that we are doing the right things.

A speedster who suffered from illness and injuries Annimari Korte also made it to the finals with 60 meters. The final time of 7.59 was finally enough for the sixth place, i.e. the last place in the final race. However, in the semi-finals, Korte ran his record 7.55.

Men’s 60 meters Samuli Samuelsson ran to the SM gold with a time of 6.65 and was only one-hundredth of the way from his record. Samuelsson, representing the Ikaalist Athletes, already ran to his fifth 60-meter championship.

– The thing that warms the heart the most here is that it made it into the history books. That’s a violation for some. It’s nice that the time improved, the best of the season and a hundredth of the record is good for the European Championships. There is certainly room for more time, the reaction was pretty damn good, maybe some steps went badly. The performance was not perfect, but the end will be good at sixty, commented Samuelsson.

Elina Lampela continued his convincing reign when he took the pole vault gold with a score of 451. Wilma Murron the withdrawal transferred the pressure to the pre-favorite Lampela, who had celebrated his birthday, and was close to the opening height of his competition, 420.

– The beginning was a bit rough, the run went really well, the fins were a bit loose. It felt really good, there would have been a chance to break the record today, Lampela regretted.

The athlete from Oulu’s Pyrinnö said that the indoor seasons have been difficult for him, but this winter the jumping has gone well. In addition to the fresh gold, this is evidenced by a record of 455, which is two centimeters better than on outdoor tracks.

Lampela revealed that the development has come by chance.

– A shoulder injury in the early fall forced me to focus only on running. With better speed and a new grip, I can bring the jump higher, Lampela commented.

If Lampela had missed his starting height, Andersson’s step sisters Saga and Silja would have celebrated a double victory. Saga Andersson got silver with a season’s best 444 and Silja Andersson got bronze with a result of 420.

Mile battles of the ages

Two encounters between youth and experience at 1,500 meters were planned for Saturday: in the women’s Nathalie Blomqvist against Sara Lappalainen (formerly Kuivisto) and in men Santtu Heikkinen against Joonas Rinne.

Lappalainen’s preparation had gone awry when his mountain-like room on the Urhea campus had mistakenly simulated an altitude of 3,000 meters instead of 2,000 meters. Lappalainen was not at the starting line, and Blomqvist raced to victory with a difference of more than 17 seconds to the next.

Heikkinen and Rinne are second and third in Finland’s all-time hall statistics for men’s ton vitos, but Antti Loikkanen the almost 45-year-old record of 3:38.16 was not in danger at Liikuntamylly. Rinne crossed the finish line first in a time of 3:46.97 after a fierce final race, and Heikkinen, who hadn’t been ahead for a long time, couldn’t do anything to last summer’s 800-meter European Championship representative.

Broadcast from the second competition day of the SM halls on Sunday at Areena from 9:55 am. Compilation of Sunday’s games on TV2 at 17:15.

Story edited 21.04: Lappalainen’s room was adjusted to the wrong height, not the treadmill. Blomqvist won by a good 17 seconds, not 15.