25-year-old Alisa Vainio broke the Finnish marathon record in Seville, Spain.
12:05•Updated 12:30
Alisa Vainio ran a new Finnish record on Sunday in Seville, Spain. Vainio healed Ritva Melenderin the record in the name of 34 seconds.
The previous SE 2:28.00 held by Melander is from April 1995. Vainio’s time was finally recorded as 2:27.26, so he improved his own record by one minute and 15 seconds when he ran in December.
– This was in a way a basic marathon for Alisa. We have known for a while that such a time is possible. Good basic training has brought results and steps forward little by little. The conditions were also right today, Jarmo Viskari tells Urheilu.
According to Viskar, the weather was almost perfect for the marathon. At the time of departure, the gauge was at ten degrees and it slowly rose to fifteen. There was also a light breeze in Seville.
– When the track is the smoothest in Europe, it offers the opportunity to run really good times, Viskari adds.
Vainio, who placed tenth, broke the result limit of the World Championships in Budapest in August. Vainio was even on the verge of breaking the Paris Olympic limit of 2:26:50, but in the end the Finn fell behind the final time of 2:26. The Olympic limit in Paris is two minutes and 40 seconds harder than in Tokyo.
– Today, the initial pace was quite brisk, which means Alisa has felt herself and felt good at the beginning and then let it go. It has been known before that Alisa can bend at the end, but not break. This also happened today, Viskari said.
Viskari believes that Vainio can still improve his time this year.
– Seconds, minutes can slip away, but we also know that summer training is cumulative. Yes, there is still some time left for that, I would think so, says Viskari.
The 25-year-old Vainio also ran a half-marathon earlier at the end of January in Seville with his record of 1.10.20. Then he improved his record by more than two minutes.
According to Viskar, the results are a continuation of what has been done for many years.
– Nothing miraculous, but deep basic training and small steps forward. A little faster exercises. That’s where the result came from. Alisa is a very talented endurance athlete. That is the most important factor.
The fastest times ever in a marathon since 1978.
1. Alisa Vainio 2.27.26 (19.2.2023)
2. Ritva Melender 2.28.00 (2.4.1995)
3. Alisa Vainio 2.28.41 (11.12.2022)
4. Päivi Tikkanen 2.28.45 (1.10.1989)
5. Tuija Toivonen 2.28.49 (29.9.1991)
6. Anne-Mari Hyryläinen 2.28.53 (26.1.2018)
7. Camilla Richardsson 2.30.45 (5.12.2021)
8. Kirsi Mattila 2.31.23 (25.9.1994)
9. Nina Chydenius 2.32.48 (20.2.2022)
10. Sinikka Keskitalo 2.33.18 (21.4.1986)
We also saw each other at the Seville Marathon Arttu Vattulainenwho ran the domestic top time of the men’s season 2.18.20.
The story was completed on 19 February 2023 at 12:50 with Viskar’s comments.