In Viivi Lehikoinen’s situation, a real complete turnaround – even the Olympic final is realism | Sport

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What speaks?

We started the fourth day of the European Championships with great expectations of success, but even after Monday, Finland’s medal tally looks like a round zero.

Going into the moukari final as a medal favorite, he is equally confident Silja Kosonen came fourth bitterly.

Defending European champions Wilma Murto and Top Raitanen on the other hand, were far from the top.

Murto, who recovered from an Achilles tendon injury in the spring, was eighth in the final after only exceeding the opening height of 443. The Suomalaistahtahti only reached the full 16-step race pace in the qualifying for the European Championships.

Murto and his coach Jarno Koivunen stated that jumping at full competition speed combined with the biggest fences is still a work in progress.

– Wilma couldn’t join the soap at all. There haven’t been enough high-speed performances below to have jumping confidence, Urheilu’s expert Jaakko Ojaniemi states.

Although Silja Kosonen made an even series, the much-needed spike throw was still missing. The 21-year-old Finn’s final sharpness shined through his absence even in Sunday’s qualifying performances.

– It’s easy to go into a little overwork, which takes away the relaxation and the kind of scope that a moukari should have. When you start to rail too much, it reduces the mouker’s throwing trajectory and thus the speed, Ojaniemi analysed.

Who surprised?

The most positive Finnish performance in the evening section was the one who made the most valuable competition of his life Elina Lampela.

Seiväsnainen shared the fourth place with an excellent 458 result. Oulu’s record is only five centimeters better.

However, Ojaniemi gives an interesting summary of Lampela’s performance.

– It was a good expected performance from Elina. Not really a surprise, but definitely a positive performance.

However, Lampela beat Wilma Murro, among others. So you had great faith in Lampela?

– Jumping looked really good already in qualifying. Of course, he withstood the expectations well in the final, says Ojaniemi.

An even bigger surprise was that he ran his best time of the season (54.92) in the semi-finals of the 400 meter hurdles Viivi Lehikoinen. The Finn’s performance was very positive considering the recent difficulties.

Lehikoinen has suffered from an overexertion condition since the Halle era. Sometimes there have been signs of better things.

Even at the beginning of June, it seemed that Lehikoinen’s summer was becoming a real passing season. Before the EC semi-final, his season’s best was 55.81.

The athlete himself has recently fallen into gloom.

– It’s been quite a difficult few weeks. Last week went completely under the bench. Last Tuesday, I was thinking that I’m definitely not coming here. Last Friday I cried again and I was like no sense. Verkka felt bad too, Lehikoinen said.

Even though he didn’t get a place in the finals like in the previous European Championships, the Finn’s final season can have a wonderful climax. At the Paris Olympics, even a place in the final is possible.

– We have two months to improve what we are doing. You have to find a reasonable rhythm in terms of training and competition. There must be an interesting puzzle for Lehikoinen and his coach. However, the Olympics are almost two months away, Ojaniemi reminds.

Frustration

Topi Raitanen finished second to last in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final (15th). The worst opponents numbed Finnish sensitivity to tension.

Raitanen’s final time was 8:32.73. Alexis Miellet led France to double victory with his record of 8:14.01. Djilali Bedrani won the silver medal.

– From Top’s run, I could see pretty quickly that it wasn’t enough. When the bangs were hit, you could see that it’s not Top’s day today. At that point, Topi’s face got the wrong kind of grimace.

What next?

In Finnish athletics, we are in a familiar situation from the past years, when the roughs of Rome turn to the final straight: the medal is up to the javelin.

This time, that torch will be carried by someone who is in good shape Oliver Helander. The 27-year-old talent is looking for his first prestigious medal.

– Women’s 800 meters Eveliina Määttänen you can be close with super luck. If Finland wants to win a medal, however, Helander has the best chance. I believe that Helander can take the medal. I don’t doubt it at all.

The men’s javelin qualification will be thrown today, Tuesday afternoon. For Helander, the fact that the final is the very next day adds to the challenge. An injury-prone pitcher does not get the rest time that is important to him.

– He has clearly increased the number of throws. It will definitely help in this situation. In previous years, it would certainly have been much more difficult, Ojaniemi reassures the Finnish fans.