“Fortunately, the others were even worse”

Oliver Helander was the tenth best in qualifying, but Toni Kuusela and Lassi Etelätalo qualified.

The men’s javelin qualification went poorly for the Finns. Oliver Helander was the only one to make it to the final and he too was only tenth in the qualification with a score of 80.19. Toni Kuusela and Lassi Etelätalo were left out of the finals.

India made the most convincing mark Neeraj Chopra (88.77) and Pakistan Arshad Nadeem (86,79).

– It would have been a big disappointment if I had missed the qualification. Fortunately, the others were even worse, Helander acknowledged.

Helander’s coach Tero Pitkämäki wasn’t happy with his protégé’s throws.

– Oliver’s throws looked really soft. The final run was not in the usual style and the support was really soft. Sunday is a new day and then it can be a completely different man on the line, Pitkämäki stated.

– They were a bit soft. Today was other people’s weather, Sunday is mine. A little cooler weather would be better, Helander admitted.

Helander reminds that there is a new race on Sunday.

– The medal has been the goal all along. On a good day, there is a chance. You can’t throw the same way as today.

Helander believed that a medal would require his best throw of the season, i.e. about 87 meters.

– Chopra throws at least that basic 88 and the man from Pakistan can throw no matter how far.

According to Pitkämäki, the favorites mostly stayed in the qualifiers.

– I already knew on the net court that Chopra was fine. He will throw at least the same in the final. The Pakistan man also seemed to be in good shape and Jakub Vadlejch. On the other hand Anderson Peters fell, so there were surprises.

The lack of momentum throws as a problem for Etelätalo

Suffering from injuries, last summer’s EC bronze medalist Lassi Etelätalo finished in 18th place with a score of 78.19. Did the result show a lack of competition?

– Not only non-competition. The lack of quick throws is the biggest problem. I haven’t really been able to train during the summer. After the Kaleva Games, it was fine, so the expectations were much better.

Kuusela: “I went to hell”

Toni Kuusela was Fifth in the first qualifying group with a result of 79.27. So the extension seemed quite possible, but Kuusela himself did not seem to believe it in the interview.

– I don’t know if there’s any need to get excited if there’s less than 80 meters left. Fucked up.

In the end, Kuusela was the first man left out of the final. He was disappointed with his throws.

– There would have been gunpowder in the first one, I just couldn’t get it in position. It had ingredients for much longer. The end was what it was.

Sports coach Petteri Piironen regretted that Kuusela often has too much pressure in his throws.

– It might sometimes overshoot, Kuusela acknowledged.

Also Urheilu’s expert by Mikaela Ingberg according to the Finns’ throws were soft.

– Expectations were higher. It was a bit careful, especially the end and coming to support. The support gave way or the hand dropped and sometimes it was violent. Qualifying is always qualifying, especially morning qualifying increases nervousness. It’s always a tough place.