Nathalie Blomqvist was fifth in the 5,000 meter EC final. This is the first score achieved by a Finnish woman in 26 years.
Joel Sippola,
Petra Manner
Nathalie Blomqvist achieved the first point for Finland at this year’s European Athletics Championships. The 23-year-old Finn was a fantastic fifth in the 5,000-meter final in Rome.
The last time a Finnish female endurance runner has reached the top eight in the prestigious competition was 26 years ago.
Blomqvist improved his record by 15 seconds to a time of 14:44.72 and undercut the Finnish record by more than ten seconds. The previous SE (14:56,22) was Annemari Sandellin on behalf of.
Blomqvist ran the entire race smartly following the pacesetters. In the last lap, he tried to fight for a medal, but ended up in fifth place.
The championship was won by Italy Nadine Battochletti before Norway Caroline Bjerkeli Grövdalia. The bronze was taken by Spain Marta García.
Born in 2001, Blomqvist has been a true comet of the Finnish athletics summer since the beginning of the season. Previously better known as a middle distance runner, Blomqvist has stealthily found his main distance at 5,000 meters. In April, he improved his record dramatically and became second in Finland’s all-time record (14:59,70).
A week ago, in the Diamond League in Oslo, we saw more impressive progress, when Blomqvist broke the 33-year-old 3,000-meter Finnish record by almost ten seconds (8:32,23).
Last December, at the cross-country European Championships, he won bronze in the under-23 category.
No information on SE rates
During the run, Blomqvist had no information that he was participating in the SE pace.
– The initial pace was a little slow. It’s good that someone kept up the pace and accelerated to the end. I am really satisfied with this in a tough group.
– There was no information about the time. It’s best to run like that.
Blomqvist is proud of his wonderful early season.
– I have been really surprised by this season. It’s really great that hard work is being rewarded now. This is just the beginning.
The boyfriend was tense
Nathalie Blomqvist’s boyfriend Mustafa Muuse watched the race excitedly in ‘s competition studio. Muuse is himself a top level endurance runner.
– Of course I was nervous. 5,000 meters is such a long distance that you have to wait until the last laps. When you’re a runner, you think about getting out of that second track. However, there was a calm feeling all the time. That was just the beginning, Muuse said and pointed out that Blomqvist used the second lane a lot during the run instead of the first lane.
– When you think about Finnish endurance running, that was a very great act for the entire Finnish endurance running and culture. Nathalie is a hard example of hard work, Muuse added.
Muuse has learned a lot from his girlfriend as an athlete. Blomqvist is a precise and motivated athlete.
– He doesn’t leave even the smallest thing unturned. When you live that everyday life, this was no surprise. He can do much better.
Blomqvist focuses a lot on running himself.
– If I think a lot about lap times, he’s at the finish line, that’s a joke, I was surprised by my time. He has the kind of nonchalance that is important for a runner.
Finnish endurance running has wonderful traditions. The last time there was a big boom in the 1970s, when, among other things, Lasse Viren, Pekka Vasala and Juha Väätäinen they brought medals by wholesale.
– I believe that we are getting a really tough runner here. There has been talk of the golden 70s, so this is becoming Nathalie’s 2020s, says Muuse.