Speed hurdler Reetta Hurske, 29, made Finnish history in the 100-meter hurdles.
Joel Sippola,
Petra Manner
Athletics EC Championships 7.6–12.6. Ylen channels. See the schedule and broadcast information of the games at this link.
Quick beeper Reetta Hurske ended Finland’s long agony at the European Championships in Rome by making it to the finals of the 100-meter hurdles. The 29-year-old Finn advanced to the finals through time comparison with a hard time of 12.78.
Before Hursket, the only person to compete in the 100-meter hurdles EC final was in 1969 Cricket Norrlund. At the same time, Hurske made Finnish history by shattering the all-time best ranking in the sport, finishing sixth in the final with a time of 12.84. Norrlund was eighth in the final competition 55 years ago.
French Cyrena Samba-Mayela won Europe with a huge competition record, 12.31. The other was from Switzerland Ditaji Kambundji and the third defending champion Poland Pia Skrzyszowska.
For Hurske, the place in the final was especially emotional because of the guests who were there.
– The parents are watching my adult competition for the first time. This is a really big deal, Hurske became sensitive after his semi-final.
The first of the hard four
There has been a strong aid boom in Finland for years. Pious, Nooralotta Nezirin, Lotta Haralan and Annimari Kortene thanks to this, the sport has sometimes been the most popular of the athletics sports in Finland.
A year ago, Hurske won the EC gold in the 60-meter hurdles indoor. Now the same woman was also responsible for the hardest outdoor performance of Finnish women ever.
Among the Finnish female sprinters, the 400 meter breaststroke Viivi Lehikoinen was sixth in the EC final two years ago. Before that Hanna-Maria Latvala ran in the 200m European Championship final in 2014.
Hurske’s page with a time of 12.78 is the second best quote of his career. The Finnish record in his name is 12.70 from last summer.
Harala twice under 13 seconds
Lotta Harala, who ran a promising 12.91 in the preliminaries, did really well in her first outdoor European Championships. Even though the going in the preliminaries was not the best possible, Haralan still broke the 13-second mark (12.98) again.
32-year-old Harala has had problems with his back.
– With this leg, it is difficult to get top runs on two consecutive days. It was a busy day.
The leg hurt after the heat run.
– Everything was done for that. It just doesn’t excite like it should.
The story will be completed.