The European Athletics Championships will be held in Rome from 7 to 12. June. Urheilu follows the events of the Games on TV2 and Areena, on the radio and in the application.
On Thursday, the Finnish Sports Federation confirmed its final team for the European Athletics Championships in Rome. The Finnish team has a total of 67 athletes.
Sports expert Jaakko Ojaniemi in this article, we will talk about Finland’s medal hopes and potential winners. According to Ojaniemi, Finland’s biggest medal hopes are Oliver Helander, Wilma Murto and moukari women Silja Kosonen and Krista Tervo.
Many others also have a good chance for a medal.
– The situation looks very good. In several decades, Finland may have the largest number of medal candidates. In many sports there are Finns on a wide front probably fighting for medals, says Ojaniemi.
Read more: See the Finnish team, program and broadcast times of the European Athletics Championships here
Finland’s medal hopes for the European Championships
Finland’s top javelin thrower Oliver Helander raced in May in Lahti, his best this season, 84.43. He is having the best and most intact training season of his career. He is also physically in the best shape of his career.
– Pretty consistent, convincing throwing from Helander. There hasn’t been a spike, but it’s not necessary. You can see from everything that Oliver is in good shape in his life. Somehow just waiting for when the long throw will come. I hope it clicks in Rome.
According to Ojaniemi, Germany Julian Weber and the Czech Republic Jakub Vadlejh are two early favourites.
– Why wouldn’t Oliver be able to fight with them on the best day.
Javelin qualification 11.6. at 14:00 and 15:25. Final 12.6. at 9:28 p.m.
Finished fifth at the European Championships in Munich two years ago Silja Kosonen has been in good condition. He threw a result of 73.97 in Eugene, USA and has raced several times to the better side of 70 meters.
– Silja is especially a very confident thrower. He showed in a really tough international competition in the USA that he is in a rising condition and that is a good sign. He is number one in my papers because of his confidence and previous good races.
Based on European statistics, the game is open for moukaris, so both Kosose and Krista Tervo there are possibilities for anything. Even to the championship.
– Moldovan Zalina Marghieva had thrown 76 meters, but that was quite a peak result for him, so what is the actual level? Bianca Ghelber is the defending champion and on par with the Finns. Anita Włodarczyk is in the twilight of his career, but has thrown 72 and we know his merits. There are the challengers.
Moukari qualifying 9.6. at 12:30 p.m. Final 10.6. at 22:33.
Reigning European Champion Wilma Murto returned to the racing fields after an Achilles tendon injury at the Lahti gp races. He short-jumped a score of 460 and said he was ready to defend his European title.
– Wilma is used to being at her best in value competitions. of Great Britain Molly Caudery is the number one favorite or challenger for Wilma. He has been in convincing form.
– If Wilma can get the jump to work at a higher speed and gets to around 480, then the medal is pretty close. Even 475 might be enough for a medal.
Seipää qualifying 8.6. at 11:40 a.m. Final 10.6. at 9:15 p.m.
Krista Tervo broke a new Finnish record of 74.63 in Lahti, but in his next competition in Estonia he fell behind with a result of 67.85. While Kosonen is a sure performer, Tervo’s performance level has fluctuated.
– Tervo has a really big accordion, where the moukari falls. If you succeed, you can go 75 meters, and on a bad day you can fall well below 70 meters. During the same race, the unevenness of the throws is his challenge. There is potential, but in value competitions, throwing reliability is emphasized.
Moukari qualifying 9.6. at 12:30 p.m. Final 10.6. at 22:33.
Aku Bearden set a new Finnish record of 1:18.22 in the 20 km walk at the World Championships last August and finished sixth. He walked 10 kilometers with a Finnish record of 38:34 in Espoo in May.
Ojaniemi reminds that Partanen does not need to improve many places from the World Championships, that he is in the medal position. However, he has tough challengers, although the entry lists may still live in the next few days.
– Aku showed with his Finnish record that he is in good shape. He should definitely be counted among the medal candidates.
20 kilometer walk 8.6. at 19:00.
Reigning European Champion Top Raitanen ran the sixth best time of his career in the 3000m hurdles in 8:21.00 in May in Germany. Raitase has the kiri ability and with a suitable speed distribution, he has a chance for a medal.
– Sure, Raitanen’s last year was a bit weaker, but the season’s first steeplechase 8.21 gave good expectations. Of course, it is difficult to predict in advance how the race will shape up and what speed distribution will be used.
– There are no super advance favorites. Between 8.13 and 8.16 there are many friends. If time is running out, it’s tight at Top. If the speed distribution is good and the last lap goes to a rustle, he has a good chance of anything.
3,000 m ej heats 8.6. at 11:10 a.m. Final 10.6. at 23:00.
Saga Vannisen at the medal hope depends very much on whether the Belgians are Nafissatou Thiam and Great Britain Katarina Johnson-Thompson with. Their normal level in a match is above 6,700 points, but after that the level drops to around 6,500 points.
– If they are not or another one is missing, it increases Saga’s chances.
– If Saga can set his new record, he will be very close to the medal fight. It really depends on who is on the line. It will become clear in the coming days, when the list of participants is confirmed.
Potential winners
In addition to medal hopefuls, Finland has several athletes who are able to compete for final places and points. For example, a javelin thrower Lassi Etelätalo has shown himself to be a good value race athlete, even though his condition is a small sample from this summer.
– It is possible that he is in the lead. Javelin as well Toni Keränen able to score on a good day.
It also came as a positive surprise to Ojaniemi that the triple jumpers Kristiina Mäkelä and Senni Salminen have shown themselves to be in a good upswing condition. According to both Salminen and Ojaniemi’s understanding, Mäkelä has also competed at a shorter speed.
– The level is not necessarily terribly hard, so they can be surprisingly strong. If both get full speed, as I jump to work and get to the 14:40 corners, it could be very close to a medal.
Ojaniemi believes that too Eveliina Määttänen (800m), Delay in Lehikoinen (400m aj) and with Nathalie Blomqvist (5,000m) there are opportunities for good investments.
– There are many athletes like this who can finish in the points on a good day.
Ojaniemi highlights the speedboats Reetta Hurskeen and Lotta Haralan, who are certainly aiming for a place in the finals. He doesn’t exactly know half marathoner by Camilla Richardsson situation, but he can also reach the points.
– Men’s speed dial Elmo Lakka too has been in good form and he might one day fight for a finals spot.
The expert hopes that there will also be surprises in the games.
– For example, triple jumpers Aaro Davidila and Simo Lipsanen made pretty tough results last year. Now they haven’t reached the same numbers, but they also have potential.