Ukonmaanaho already piloted Topi Raitanen to the European championship. Mustafe Muuse also trains under him.
He won silver in the European Under-23 Championship last summer Eemil Helander, 22, moves to a new coaching position. Coached Helander throughout this career Ari Nummela has had to give up all coaching for health reasons. He has incurable cancer.
Helander moves Janne Ukonmaanahon, 39, for coaching. Both know Nummela well, so the birth of a new coaching relationship naturally arouses conflicting feelings.
– I approached Janne about it. We first talked with Ari (Nummela) and we thought that Janne would be a good successor, says Helander.
– After all, it (Nummela’s illness) is a really sad situation. Although I have known for several years that at some point Ari will not be able to coach, it still surprises me. I thought that Ari and I could still continue, but the situation has changed quickly. It’s a sad situation, but once you’ve thought about this, it’s helped you think about the future, says Helander.
Ukonmaanaho praises Nummela’s work for Helander’s career.
– You would never want to start coaching in a situation like this, when you know that Ari has now had to give up coaching. I am prepared that if Ari and Eemil want me to continue Ari’s work, I will see it as a sign of trust. Ari trusts that I will take Eemil forward in the meritorious work he has been doing for years.
The same style of training
Ukonmaanaho was baked by the orienteer Top from Raitase European steeplechase champion in the summer of 2022. Helander and Ukonmaanaho know each other from before, because Helander has trained a lot with Raitanen.
– I have been following the collaboration between Janne and Topi (Raitanen) for a long time. I know his training style and I myself have been training in the same style for a couple of years. Ukonmaanaho is also supported by the fact that Topi has done really well. That one day he could become European champion himself, thinks Helander.
Helander’s main sport has been the 3,000-meter steeplechase, but due to leg problems, he changed the distance to the 5,000-meter flat last summer. Helander plans to run hurdles again at the end of next summer, but the European Championships in Rome, which will be held in early summer, may come up too quickly.
Lots of talent
Ukonmaanaho, who works as a dentist in his civilian job, coaches in addition to Raitanen and Helander Mustafe Muusea. He has in his hands a large part of Finnish talent in a sport that has more than a century of tradition in our country. However, he does not take any real pressure from the situation.
– Pressure is perhaps the wrong word. Let’s just say that I feel my responsibility. In my work, whether it’s as a coach or a dentist, people trust the professional skills I’ve acquired. So you have to be worthy of someone else’s trust.