Urho Kujanpää’s outdoor track season starts in Rehlingen, Germany on May 19. There is no need to worry about the EC competition place; it’s in the pocket.
10:30•Updated 10:51
The fourth prestigious competitions of the career are practically a sure thing, because the pole vaulter Urho Kujanpää is in the 17th place in the EC ranking in Rome and does not guarantee any more rush for his still 15 athletes.
Rome’s direct EC limit is 575, from which Kujanpää on January 23 in Tampere jumped five centimeters short, his record 570.
The biggest result of his career came in quite an emotional state, because only a few days before the competition, Kujanpää had visited Tampere University Hospital to see the coach Raimo Eskolaa. This school in Tampere, on the promise of Pyrinnö, top jumper for the years 2017-2022. There was not much time left at the time of the visit.
Death in a week
Eskola suffered from internal organ cancer, from which he died at the age of 74 exactly one week after Kujanpää had jumped his record.
– It got emotional, and it felt good that Raimo could still hear about that result, in 2022 another legendary figure of the sport, the EC bronze medalist Rauli Pudasen Kujanpää, who moved into coaching, said.
As the illness progressed, Eskola’s condition fluctuated drastically. Kujanpää wanted to keep in touch with his coach as long as possible.
– Sports were always talked about, and that was enough. I got to hear an interesting story about steel and fiberglass soaps and the value competitions of previous years.
Pole vaulting has an exceptionally rich history within athletics, and the sport has always attracted exceptional individuals. Kujanpääkä has always been interested in the history of his own sport.
One exceptional individual in the domestic history of the sport was deceased Jani Lehtonen, whose 583-centimeter SE jump will be 31 years old on June 26. Kujanpää, who will turn 27 this month, says that he is now at such a level in measurable qualities that the Finnish record can be transferred to his name.
– The pit entry speed is half a meter per second faster than last season. Jani’s record is practically one raise away.
Rauli Pudas runs his coaching clinic mainly in Helsinki, where Kujanpää, who lives in Tampere, has practiced extensively. In Tampere, he has managed his home practice independently.
– We decided to stay out of the national team camps, because there is so much camping anyway, when in Helsinki I always train as if I were at a camp.
Of course, the men’s pole vault season has been a big topic of conversation by Armand Duplantis for him, the world record 624, which was shattered in the first outdoor track competition in Xiamen, China, after the hall season (best result 605). It did not surprise his colleague at all.
– Under Hallikai, he had clearly trained exceptionally hard. The truth was then seen in Xiamen.
Kujanpää’s own outdoor track season starts in Rehlingen, Germany on May 19.