Athletics EC Championships 7.6–12.6. Ylen channels. See shipping information at this link.
What speaks?
No one could have predicted before the European Championships that a man named Santeri Kuusiniemi competes in the 110m hurdles final and is seventh there. The 25-year-old Finn advanced to the Games among the last athletes through the ranking.
Due to his level of performance, Kuusiniemi should not have had a chance at the finals, but a rare back door opened for him after some surprising turns.
Poland in the semi-finals Jakub Szymanski crashed onto the Kuusiniemi track, where the Finn’s run was naturally ruined. In the end, Kuusiniemi made it to the final competition with a kind of refund.
Instead of eight runners, there were nine athletes in the final. When a couple of runners were behind Kuusiniemi in the final itself, he achieved the fourth place in the Games for Finland.
The athlete himself was stunned when he heard about the final place.
– I came to the hard field after the semi-final and I thought that the better ones ran harder. Then they came to say that back to the track.
– Of course it feels really great. Came in any style. Even if you can run to the final next time, Kuusiniemi added.
Sports expert Jaakko Ojaniemi says that the chance to run in the final went according to the rules in this case.
– I don’t value it in the same way as what comes from running. It would have been foolish not to run. You should take advantage of such opportunities that come through luck.
– Of course, he was at a good pace in his semi-final and would have clearly run his best time of the Games. In that sense, it was great that he got the chance to improve his time, Ojaniemi says.
Who surprised?
Although Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou is a dazzling value race athlete, his winning streak in the men’s long final came from the butt.
The winning streak was deafening: 842, x, 849, 845, 865, 865. The latter two are state records.
In recent years, the EC finals have not been real spectacles, but this time the final was shockingly hard. Italy’s super talent Mattia Furlani19, won silver with the new youth ME 838.
Better known as a 10-player, but also excellent in length, the Swiss Simon Ehammer took bronze with an excellent score of 831. During the opening days of the European Championships in Rome, the jumping venue of the Games, which takes place on a specially built podium instead of next to the field, has been the talk of the town.
– The jumping place is really good. It makes running easier. The effort can be made better, Ojaniemi estimates.
Despite his young age, 26-year-old Tentoglou has won everything in his career many times. Known as a dazzling competitor, the Greek grabbed the only missing achievement in his collection with the country’s record.
However, in Finland and also internationally, Tentoglou has received surprisingly little attention. In Finland, Sweden remembers the European Championships in Berlin six years ago by Armand Duplantis and Norway by Jakob Ingebrigtsen as breakthrough games. In addition to them, a long jumper in his twenties also achieved his first major victory in those games.
– He is a humble guy, but still a superstar. I myself was surprised when I learned about the long distance race that he is so young.
Who flopped?
Like the opening day of the games, the race organizers were actually responsible for the flop. In the men’s 100-meter semi-finals, there was a mix-up with dispatching.
Ojaniemi, an ex-decathlete who has seen several prestigious competitions, has been spinning his head during the competitions because of all kinds of strangeness.
– For example, the result systems work extremely poorly. For example, we no longer get water from the press facilities, although in the early days you got bottles of water. Now you can’t even get them and you can’t even bring your own water bottles into the area, Ojaniemi says from the spot.
What next?
During the first two days, Finland has achieved four places in the points (top 8). They were answered by the fifth place finishers Nathalie Blomqvist (5,000 m) as well as Aku Bearden (20 km walk), placed sixth Reetta Hurske (100 m aj) and seventh placed Santeri Kuusiniemi (110 m aj).
It is believed that the medal pot will open on Monday at the latest, when the pole vaulter will be in the ring Wilma Murto and hurdler Top Raitanen as well as probably mortar throwers Silja Kosonen and Krista Tervo. The Moukari duo will be chasing the final places on Sunday morning.
However, Ojaniemi hints that the first Finnish medal of the Games may come as early as Sunday, and even more so from the high jump mat. Performed brilliantly in qualifying Ella Junnila is in excellent condition.
Three years ago, he won bronze at the European Championships, so the competition layout is nothing new.
– Ella was really convincing in qualifying. She might even fight for a medal, because there aren’t many really tough women beforehand. For example, crossing a height of 195 with a clear game can already be enough for medals, Ojaniemi relishes.
Junnila’s Finnish record is 196 jumps at the European Championships. Her best on outdoor tracks is just 195.