Three of the Finns made it to the finish line of the marathon, two dropped out. After a 23-year break, Annemari Kiekara, who returned to the competition, thought it was time to give more space to other things in life.
Mika Halonen,
Emma Jump
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The European Championships in athletics started on Monday, and marathons were on the program right from the start. We didn’t see any Finnish success, but there were plenty of emotional and gut-wrenching moments.
Nina Chydenius got to the 39th place as the best Finn (2:43:00). Suvi Miettinen was 46th (2.47.15) and Annemari Kiekara 49th (2.48.30).
Before the European Championships, several marathon participants had signed a letter addressed to the organizers, demanding that the start times of the marathon be moved to the early morning due to the European heat wave. The organizers did not agree to this, instead the women were sent on their way at 10:30 local time, the men at 11:30.
We were spared the worst of the heat, but the trip still became a real heaven of pain for the Finns.
The first Finn to finish, Nina Chydenius, who appeared moved in interviews, described the journey as difficult.
– It was really warm and there was one heavy hill. With a bad round, it felt like it would never end. Thanks to this audience, it gave me energy. This was the hardest run of my life. I’m really pleased that I increased my rankings (ranking 50, EC ranking 39).
Chydenius said that he was mature at the 30 kilometer mark, but he had to fight himself to the finish line.
– I thought I didn’t come here to interrupt. Never mind, I’ll run to the end of it. The kids and my future husband were here, I decided, damn it, I’m not going to show them that I’m giving up. Then I thought I would just take one step at a time.
Chydenius said he drank quite a bit along the way and was likely to suffer from dehydration soon. He said that he took a risk with the amount of fluid, so that his stomach could hold, but still so that his legs wouldn’t cramp. It worked. Although for Ilta-Sanom Chydenius told (you will switch to another service) that he vomited both during the race and at the finish line, but luckily some of the gels and drinks were absorbed.
For the 32-year-old Chydenius, the marathon was a prestigious competition debut. In the Kaleva Games this summer, he won the second consecutive SM gold in the 10,000 meters. Chydenius’ marathon record was 2:32:48 in Seville in the winter.
– I love being here. I hope that I will continue to make it and raise the ranks one competition at a time. I think I’m supposed to be here. If there’s one place where you have to grind and grind, it’s in value competitions. I feel that I succeeded in that, Chydenius, who was praising the maintenance forces effusively, felt.
You can watch the entire interview with Nina Chydenius below.
Suvi Miettinen’s hamstring couldn’t last
Quite a fight for survival also came from the marathon of another value race debutant, 34-year-old Suvi Miettinen.
– I left pretty calmly and wanted to do a successful, intact performance, which was coming. When I started the last lap (the last 10 km) I thought that yes, this will go to the finish line and there will even be a record.
Miettinen’s record was last fall in Jyväskylä in 2:37:58, which he now missed by ten minutes.
– At 35 kilsa, the hamstring (muscle of the back) snapped, something torn there. The end was a disaster, I just dragged myself to the finish line. It’s really sad, because a good run was coming.
Miettinen said that his hamstring had already been numbed before the race, but he didn’t think that a muscle tear could occur during the marathon.
– But we reached the goal. I promised myself that I would come, even if I dragged myself to the finish line, and by God I came to the finish line. That’s already something.
– A good or excellent performance was coming, but my health let me down. After this, I’ll probably go to the filming and see what’s there.
In any case, Miettinen described the prize competition debut as a great experience, the kind of which he promised to aim for more.
The full interview with Suvi Miettinen is below.
Annemari Kiekara’s difficult return
And it wasn’t easy for Konkar either. Annemari Kiekara, 45, returned to the prestigious competition after a 23-year break. Kiekara (née Sandell) competed in prestigious competitions for the last time at the World Championships in Seville in 1999, when she participated in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.
Kiekara already had time in 2016 to announce his intentions to end his career, but soon returned to competitions – and to the top national level a few years later. He returned to the Kaleva Games 2020 as Finnish champion after an 11-year break after winning both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in Turku.
Kiekara, who loves running, got into the EC marathon through the ranking system. His best marathon time this season was 2:39:46 in Rotterdam, which he now missed by about nine minutes at the European Championships.
– I wouldn’t complain about the weather, but my fluids were already sloshing around in my stomach before half time. It’s quite painful then. My legs started cramping when I couldn’t get any liquid. It was actually jogging halfway through, but I was determined to finish.
Kiekara stated that anywhere else the race would have been abandoned, but at the EC marathon he wanted to finish.
Alisa Vainio the dream of a good performance faded into a bout of nausea and an interruption after 30 kilometers of running. Kiekara said in the interview that Vainio had complained of a sore throat in the morning, and he also had a somewhat similar feeling.
It could also be that Vainio didn’t have enough time to recover from the World Cup marathon he ran a month ago (16th in 2.30.29).
But will Kiekara’s great career continue?
– I never wanted to say that “I’m quitting now”. I love running. Yes, I would believe that it is starting to be here. It has been here, and of course there are so many other things in life, even more room for them.
The final letter of the men’s winner was astonishing
Poland won the women’s marathon Aleksandra Lisowska at 2.28.36. It is his first prestigious medal. Croatia came to silver Matea Parlov Kostro and Holland, who took bronze Nienke Brinkmann lost to the winner by 17 seconds.
In the men’s marathon Arttu Vattulainen sky ended in suspension.
– I ran up to a good 25 kilometers. At that point, the speed had slowed down really badly and my eyes started to blur. A big disappointment because I had waited and invested in this. Now I have to swallow the disappointment, Vattulainen told STT.
Vattulainen also said that he did not want to beat himself up in bed.
– When I stopped there, I avoided bigger consequences.
The men’s marathon culminated in a German celebration to the delight of the home crowd. Richard Ringer rose to victory with a fierce finish and took the gold with a time of 2.10.19.
Israeli Maru Teferi won silver in the final meters with a time of 2.10.23. The bronze also went to Israel when Gashau Ayale placed third.
Check out Richard Ringer’s amazing closing letter below.