Sara Lappalainen returned to show style after her long competition break. The SE runner commented on his most recent Finnish championship with emotion.
Joel Sippola,
Petra Manner,
Laura Arffman
The Kaleva Games in Lahti 27.–30.7. Urheilu follows the events in this article. On Saturday, the broadcast of Puhe starts at 15:45, the broadcast of TV2 and Areena at 17:25.
Sara Lappalainen the return to the racing arena after a break of almost a year could not have been more wonderful. The Finnish 1,500-meter record holder ran in Lahti to become the champion of the Kaleva Games thanks to her soaring 150-meter dash.
Lappalainen, who has suffered great difficulties in the past two years, was in a moved state at the time of the interview. He has had severe health problems this summer. Already the last hall season was completely missed.
Lappalainen told about his problems this year earlier on Friday.
Read more: Star runner Sara Lappalainen opens up about her health problems, which have made life painful: “Hell”
Tonnivitonen’s gold was the sixth for a woman born in 1991.
– This is incomprehensible! I’m speechless. This has been so difficult and now it’s like this! It’s hard to understand, Lappalainen became sensitive in an interview with .
– It has been tough. I’ve been mentally exhausted. This has been such a struggle for a long time.
Lappalainen’s long-term coach Ari Suhonen was relieved after the golden run.
– The most important thing here is the return. Sara is able to train and compete intact, which is better than winning.
“Can even vacuum”
The women’s 1,500 meters was an entertaining race. Going into the last round, Lappalainen was still in contention for the championship, Kristina Mäki, Nathalie Blomqvist mixed Ilona Mononen. Lappalainen’s kiri on the final straight was poison for Mäe, who finished second.
According to Lappalainen, the feeling was really good already during the exercise.
– The legs felt damn good. In the race, I wondered if I couldn’t run here, when it felt so easy. I was prepared for the fact that I would get hung up in the spirit hieroglyph. It felt like I was on a run.
– Really confusing. The state of being is so variable. Sometimes it feels like you can’t even vacuum the room.
Suhonen was not terribly surprised by his protégé’s final draw.
– I knew that Sara was in good shape. However, the first race of the season is always a big question mark. That law had a little uncertainty. It’s always easier to start with smaller competitions, but Sara did a great job.
“Damn good to run”
Lappalainen and Suhosen have no real goals for the rest of the season. They were just trying to enjoy the games on the ice.
Next year’s goal is the Paris Olympics. Two years ago, Lappalainen ran a total of four Finnish records in the 800 meters and 1,500 meters at the Tokyo Olympics.
– There are still challenges, but I will do my best to start next season with a clean slate and have an intact training season. Next year is an important season. Is this so damn great to run, Lappalainen stated.
The Kaleva Games in Lahti 27.–30.7. Urheilu follows the events in this article. On Saturday, the broadcast of Puhe starts at 15:45, the broadcast of TV2 and Areena at 17:25.