In Tero Pitkämäki’s coaching, Oliver Helander is finally realizing his potential, writes Atte Husu.
The first show of a domestic spear story was seen at Paavo Nurmi Stadium on Tuesday Oliver Helander 2.0. It was practically the first race that 25-year-old Helander threw at his new coach Tero Pitkämäki under the watchful eye – three weeks ago in Dessau, Germany, Helander was on a trip without his coach, and in the Finnish Championship finals last August, the length of the duo’s collaboration was calculated in hours.
On Tuesday, the athletics people got their first taste of the fruits of a ten-month coaching relationship. Helander snatched to a record 89.83.
When that result puts Helander fourth in all-time Finnish statistics Antti Ruuskanen and only remain ahead Aki ParviainenPitkämäki and Seppo Räty, it would seem to cause special distortions. But no. Not the slightest.
Helander’s potential to become the fourth Finn to break the 90-meter ghost line has been known since 2018. At that time, he threw a score of 88.02 as a 21-year-old spear. Today, Helander is a completely different country in terms of both mental capacity and physics. Although Helander has been in the headlines more in recent years due to his injuries than his results, the potential has not been lost anywhere. A great proof of this was the 86.13 seen in the Finnish Championship final in August 2021.
After this, for the first time in years, Helander was able to train healthy throughout the winter season and almost the entire spring, the record seen on Tuesday was budgeted rather than surprising. It would have been a surprise if the stick hadn’t flown far.
The duo Helander-Pitkämäki has not disguised her enthusiasm in her interviews with various media in the spring. It has always been known that for Helander to stay healthy, breaking the 90-meter limit is only a matter of time.
Somewhere in the driver’s seat
Health, Helander, Pitkämäki and Turku. The ingredients were the same four years ago when Pitkämäki left Paavo Nurmi Stadium for the last time as a javelin thrower, unable to reserve his weight on his left foot. In the same race, Helander stepped in just over his 87-meter throw and dropped from the final three laps.
Not far away was the overshoot even on Tuesday, how volatile was Helander’s pace in record throwing. There have been few full-thrown throws in recent weeks due to an approaching injury that came in April and has now been reversed. For example, in the Dessau race that opened the season, Helander practically threw his first throws from the walking pace, increasing his pace lap by lap. Against this background, Dessau’s 80.36 was a great debut.
However, the sore shoulder after the race once again raised familiar questions about Helander’s susceptibility to injury. The shoulder was treated a week ago with a cortisone injection, which is why Helander was not seen on the line at the Espoo GP. Throwing a record in a competition immediately after a treatment procedure is likely to provide some relief on the mental side as well, if your shoulder is symptomatic in preparation for the Eugene World Championships and the European Championships in Munich.
In recent years, Helander has had to apply his practice practically constantly when he is needed in an injury jungle. It now seems that under Pitkämäki, one of the most talented throwers in the history of his sport is finally getting a driver’s place in his career.
On the other hand, in the media, Helander has rather played a side role in Pitkämäki taking responsibility for the situation and prospects he is coaching. The post-competition TV interview in Turku was no exception. Known as a meager media, Helander hardly has anything bad to say about the arrangement.
The collaboration between Pitkämäki and Helander, who won seven medals in their careers, has started in a strong wind, but both the coach and the athlete are firmly on the ground. It is vital for Helander to get rid of his reputation as a thrower of individual top caps, so there will be healthy earnings pressure in the upcoming Saturday race in Kuortane.
The record seen in Turku raises Helander to the third place in the world list this year, which opens the door for Finns to take part in the Diamond League competition to be held in Stockholm on June 30 after Kuortane. In addition to fierce competition, Helander specifically needs international assumptions to develop into a value success. Behind Tuesday was the reigning Olympic champion, who, like Helander, set his record Neeraj Chopra (89.30), and reigning world champion Anderson Peters, 86.60.
Awesome level
Helander’s record was not the only international title magnet for the Paavo Nurmi Games. About the profit results Daniel Ståhlin 70.62 meters on the puck, Rasmus Mägin 47.82 on a gated track, Krista Tervon 74.34 in the hammer and Tobi Amusan 12.57 quick fences would have medal levels in all value races. In addition, it should be mentioned Max Burginin the world’s top result at 800 meters and a slew of other results that would be high at the World Cup in a month’s time.
The Paavo Nurmi Games competition organization needs to be raised in terms of how hard it can provide athletic coverage from year to year. The event will wash away several Diamond League competitions, the majority of which will be held in full audiences. In Turku, the atmosphere is always guaranteed by a full room, which athletes appreciate and glow without hindrance. Be it the status of the Diamond League in the future or whatever, PNG is among the major international athletics competitions.