Halonen has aimed primarily at the European Championships. According to him, the story of his colleague Viivi Lehikoinen is inspiring.
Kristiina Halonen had already buried his dream of a place in the 400-meter hurdles at the World Championships in Eugene. Even on Wednesday afternoon, it seemed that the Lappeenranta Sports Men’s runner would be the first to be eliminated from the World Championships.
– He called me and told me that I will get to Eugene. It was a pretty incredible feeling. Yes, I mean a few tears will roll. It was an absurd situation, Halonen told Urheilu.
Eugene’s World Cup selections are partly influenced by the new ranking system. Instead of one result, we look at several competitions. Rankings, which get good points, have a higher value than results.
Halonen admits that the system is not his favorite.
– I’ve never been a fan of it. After all, there are many disadvantages to it. That’s the system for now though, so here we go.
The target was the European Championships
Halonen has competed in the fenced track circuit five times this year. He has run in domestic GP races in Tampere and Kuortane. In addition, the calendar has included a competition in Sollentuna, Sweden, the Paavo Nurme competitions and the Oulu ranking competitions.
Halonen won the Valkea City Games in Oulu with his record of 56.76. In addition, he has placed second twice (in Tampere and Sollentuna), was once fourth in Kuortane and sixth in the Paavo Nurmi Games.
In his runs, he primarily aimed for a place in the European Championships.
– I didn’t actually run those five runs because of the World Championships, but with the European Championships in mind. Apparently they took me all the way to the World Cup.
At the World Championships, Halonen, 24, aims to run well and chase his own record.
Lehikoinen as a source of inspiration
Halonen has followed another 400-meter hurdler, a 22-year-old Viivi Lehikonen strong grips with respect. According to Halonen, Lehikoinen’s runs have been wonderful and inspiring.
– But in Viiv, the greatest respect comes from his story behind everything. He has dared to throw himself into sports at a very young age and has made bold choices. It’s even more inspiring. A coward wouldn’t make such choices.
Lehikoinen’s results development stagnated in 2020, and the athlete was already thinking about quitting. However, he did not give up, but looked for new stimuli. His new coach Laurent Meuwlyn under Lehikoinen has risen to the top. On Thursday, in the Stockholm Diamond League, he broke his record of 54.80.
– That is a direction that should be encouraged more in athletics and where young people could take a role model, Halonen said.