Lotta Harala startled on Saturday in Espoo’s Leppävaara by running 12.64 in the 100-meter hurdles, but the result was not statistically valid due to a slight (+2.2 m/s) tailwind.
In any case, it was the longest Finnish time ever run in women’s hurdles.
Ylen athletics specialist Mikael Ylöstalo according to Harala’s small wind advantage of +0.2 m/s practically changes the time by a couple of hundredths.
– I have to remember that the winds were really strong in Leppävaara today. And there the wind is always a bit swirling. It is possible that there could have been stronger winds during part of the journey. That’s why those wind results always have to be mirrored a little, reminds Ylöstalo.
The expert’s own main sport in his track and field career was the 110-meter hurdles, so he knows the conditions of the sport well and their effects on high-speed hurdles.
– In any case, hurdles is probably the most difficult sport from which you can benefit from a downwind. This is because you have to move those legs really quickly between the fences so that the next fence doesn’t come into your lap.
Not a big surprise for Ylöstalo or Harala
Ylöstalo wasn’t there in Espoo himself, but he got a report on the spot from familiar sports people.
– Lotta seemed to be in very good shape already at the end of April at the camp in Tenerife, where I was on the spot watching. I’m not terribly surprised by his hard time, although of course 12.64 is a world-class result.
Despite the favorable wind, Harala’s breakneck speed is not possible if the leg does not work well, the expert reminds.
The Finnish record for fences of 100 meters is Reetta Hurskeen 12.70 run in Jyväskylä last summer. Lotta Harala’s record is 12.85 run last summer in Switzerland.
– I am not surprised by Harala’s times. I thought that he will run hard this summer and compete for the first place (in Finland) in all seriousness. Can clearly challenge Reetta this summer. Now it has already been realized for those times that it is in a strong profit condition, Ylöstalo states.
“In the second run, wind less than +1.8 m/s”
In the second run of the evening, Harala clocked 12.89 under permitted conditions. The wind behind was +1.8 meters per second.
– According to the person present, in the second start of the women’s hurdles, it seemed as if there was much less wind behind what the meter officially showed. In the race that was run before this, it was against 0.8 m/s, says Ylöstalo.
Editor of Kimmo Porttilan according to the view, Harala’s second run was initially against the flags, and it was only at the fourth fence that the wind turned favorable.
At the European Championships in Munich in 2022, Harala’s current wind time of 12.64 would have achieved silver. There is less than a month until this summer’s European Championships in Rome, which will take place on June 6-12.
Harala said that a place in the EC final is his primary goal. According to the expert, last month’s training camp in Spain already showed that he is seriously competing for a place in the final competition.
– Lotta is in such good shape that she probably won’t do anything amazing before the European Championships. He has found a good way to approach the Games, and probably won’t hit his head against the wall when finishing, Ylöstalo sees.
The expert won’t start handing out European Championship medals to Finland based on Harala’s strong opening on the outdoor track just yet.
– It’s more about how he knows how to take advantage of the competitive situation ahead and get the most out of it. Lotta has a delicious situation in that sense – a bit like Reeta – that both are very good leavers.
– We often win quite a lot by being in the lead at the beginning, so if others don’t have enough patience, they can get into trouble and have problems along the way, analyzes Ylöstalo.
This season, 14 women have managed to run longer than Harala, but in permitted winds, four of whom are European. In the whole of last season, five European women were able to do harder times.
The Doha International Track and Field Championships on June 10 saw great times from European female sprinters. Swiss Ditaji Kambundji true allowed wind readings (+1.7 m/s) winning time 12.49 and ranked third, reigning European champion Pia Skrzyszowska 12.51.
– In that run, the wind was acceptable, but in some sections there was a gust of up to four meters per second. It’s always like that in Doha, when you compete there in an open stadium, where the wind picks up really hard. Yes, they also had pretty fierce winds behind them.
Ylöstalo guesses that the Kambundjis and Skrzyszowskas don’t constantly run 12:40-12:50 times.
– Surely their times will normalize to the 12.60–12.70 level. Nor are Lota’s normal runs 12.6 times. They are done when the conditions are good and everything falls into place.