One of the biggest Olympic hopes of Finnish athletics has been able to train at a completely different level compared to recent years.
Javelin thrower Oliver Helander is in a completely new situation in his career during the Olympic year.
Helander’s personal trainer Tero Pitkämäki says that his protégé was able to train healthy throughout the training season, which has been only a distant dream in previous years.
When Pitkämäki and Helander started their coaching collaboration at the end of 2021, the promising thrower suffered from bad shoulder problems in his throwing arm. In 2022, the shoulder was treated with several cortisone injections.
A year ago, the training season was hampered by back problems. Because of them, Helander was only able to start intensive training in January 2023.
According to Pitkämäki, Helander had “a little back pain” in the winter, which has since completely disappeared.
– There have been no stopping factors. A really balanced training season compared to last years.
– We have been able to make particularly powerful throws during the winter. Probably five times more than last year and the year before, Pitkämäki says over the phone from Tenerife, where the two have been training for the past few weeks.
Basic level increased
Although Pitkämäki’s and Helander’s records are close to each other – 91.53 and 89.87 – the coach and protégé are like night and day.
The biggest reason lies in the background. Helander decided to focus on javelin instead of handball at the age of 19. At that age, Pitkämäki had managed to throw thousands more throws than his current protégé.
Although Helander’s repetitions from previous training seasons have multiplied, he still can’t come close to Pitkämäki’s numbers.
– Not even close, but still quite nice amounts. And there’s no need to get into that, because Oliver is a different type of athlete. I did double compared to what Oliver has been able to do now, Pitkämäki says.
According to Pitkämäki, Helander has been able to do two javelin throwing exercises a week. The workouts have included 30 hard throws. Previously, there was only one such exercise, if even that.
– Shot put has also been good. That’s 100–150 throws a week.
– Oliver’s throw rate is not shockingly big yet, but it is quite sufficient. The throwing readiness is good, and the shoulder has hardened to tolerate throwing well. The qualifying-final combination is no longer a headache, says Pitkämäki.
Two races before Rome
Helander opens its season in the Doha Diamond League on May 10. At that time, the duo’s goal is to break the Olympic limit of 85.50. Pitkämäki is also staring at the pile, i.e. whether Helander can bring to the competition the throwing confidence he has had in practice.
– The exercises give a pretty good indication, but the competition is always its own story. It seems that Oliver has completely different capabilities to make a good and steady result.
– I don’t dare to get excited in advance, even though the situation is good, Pitkämäki says, referring to Helander’s lackluster opening of the season.
In May 2022, Helander stepped over all three of his throws in Doha, and last year the stick flew from the hand of Oulu’s Pyrinnö thrower with only 80.50. In both seasons, the best result came in mid-June in Turku, which was the third race in 2022 and the second race for Helander in 2023.
In addition to Doha, Helander will be seen on the throwing line only once before the European Championships in Rome at the beginning of June. However, the summer is rhythmic only and only on the terms of the Paris Olympics that await in August.
– Only Paris has been on my mind. Rome is a side event. Let’s go one race at a time and see according to the situation, says Pitkämäki.