Lounela, who made her debut at the Paris Paralympics, ran a time of 28.33 in the 200 meter preliminaries of the T12 class.
13:33•Updated 13:34
Iida Lounela qualified from the T12 class 200 meter semi-finals of the Paris Paralympics.
Lounela was third in his heat with a time of 28.33. He missed his own Finnish record by 16 hundredths.
– I’m a little disappointed at that time, because I felt I was in record shape. This was a tough place to get the best performance out of myself, when it was tense and the situation was new, Iida Lounela stated.
Despite the result, the first-timer at the Paralympics was taken aback by the crowd when he entered the stadium.
– You can’t get experiences like this anywhere else.
Lounela praised his 17-year-old younger brother, who works as a guide runner Henrik Lounelaa. The two have collaborated for a couple of years.
– It was fun to run with my little brother. We psych each other out. Nicely handled his part in a tough place.
According to the older sister, the cooperation has gone well.
– Sometimes we negotiate, but he obeys quite well, Iida Lounela laughed.
Lounela also competed in Paris in the long jump, where she finished fourth. The medal was only 10 cm away.
The Paris Games suitably left us hungry for the future as well.
– Yes, you have to be satisfied, even though the games were a bit of a letdown. I would have liked to run a record 200 meters.
Interviewed by Petri Sjöblom.