The domestic GP series of athletics continues on Saturday in Oulu. The live broadcast at Areena starts at 14:35. On TV2, the broadcast starts at 16:30.
This season, the speedboaters who returned to competitions Annimari Korte and Lotta Harala will meet tomorrow in Oulu in the athletics GP race. After the Paavo Nurme Games in June, Korte has rehabilitated several minor ailments, while Harala set a new record on Sunday in Switzerland.
So far, Kortte’s season has already included, among other things, a wrist injury in Jyväskylä at the beginning of June and a torn ankle ligament a few days later. Aituri still keeps his goals high.
– In every race, the goal is to run the Olympic limit. After the last few difficult years, I enjoy being able to compete at all, Korte tells Urheilu in Oulu.
The women’s 100m hurdles Olympic limit for Paris is 12.77. Korte ran his season’s best 12.83 in Espoo on June 11.
The course’s record is the SE time of 12.72, which was run in the summer of 2019. Reetta Hurskewho does not compete in Oulu, improved in June at the Jyväskylä GP to the Finnish record time of 12.70.
Korte, 35, says he ran fences after a few weeks off on Wednesday. Based on this, he dared to make the decision to compete in Oulu. The troubles of the early season do not freeze Kortte’s smile.
– These are little things for me. Last year I didn’t get to compete at all, and in previous years my hamstring has bothered me a lot, Korte refers to his adversity in recent years.
He says that confidence usually comes from good training. He hasn’t quite got them before the Oulu competition, but the unpredictability of the sport creates faith in a good time.
– At Aiture, including me, the days vary a lot: one day might be bad and the next super good. I have to start with the goal that I can still run well, Korte opens.
Harala has invested in recovery
Lotta Harala improved her record on Sunday in Switzerland by no less than 14 hundredths to 12.85. Harala, who has already broken his record three times this season, has invested in early week recovery. Competing after an almost three-year hiatus from competition is a heavy strain on Aituri’s body.
– Efforts are also being made to return to normal, but especially now, with the record improvement, traveling and a competition break in the background, Harala is opening his last days.
The 31-year-old paddler admits that he was tired, but says that his state of alertness is now on the rise.
– It’s a really excited feeling to be able to compete in Oulu, Harala smiles.
He still expects good times from himself, even though the season has already offered record breaking times. According to Harala, complete success has not yet come. If the conditions in Oulu are favorable, the speedster will aim for time to feel his record.
A persistent leg injury tormented Harala for a long time. Although he was unable to run the 100m hurdles in recent years, the hurdler believed in tough times before the start of the season.
– It felt realistic to run hard times. I have been aware that I have not taken out everything that was inside, Harala reveals.
He says that he developed as an athlete in recent years, even though the shin caused a long break from competition.
– I have done long-term work both physically and mentally, Harala sums up.
The runner is satisfied with his current condition, but especially with the fact that he can compete again. The Tampere native gets emotional when talking about the importance of sports and his rise to a tough level.
– This is so important to me that I am back here (at competitions). The return has required a lot of faith, work and difficult years. This is really meaningful to me and I am happy, grateful and satisfied that I am back and at this level, Harala says.
In addition to Kortte and Harala, Finland’s top women in the 100-meter hurdles will be seen in Oulu Nooralotta Neziri, who this season has run a best time of 13.04. The Dutch will certainly offer a tough international opponent Maayke Tjin-A-Limwho ran his record 12.66 in France at the beginning of July.
The domestic GP series of athletics continues on Saturday in Oulu. The live broadcast at Areena starts at 14:35. On TV2, the broadcast starts at 16:30. Events are also monitored moment by moment on ‘s website.