Wilma Murto showed her mental edge again in the EC final. He was able to repeat his tough trick from the European Championship final in Munich.
21:48•Updated 22:10
Winner of the European Championship Wilma Murto was awarded as Model of the Year at the Sports Gala. In the interview after the pole vault final of the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, we saw a fitting example of why Murto was chosen as a role model.
Murto had just achieved the second EC gold of his career.
In the interview, the Finn had in mind Tina Sutej’s destiny. The 34-year-old Slovenian started the race as the biggest favorite, but ended up in second place after a hard fight. The first prize race win of his career has eluded the experienced athlete.
– I see him as a jumper who deserves more than silver and bronze from his career. However, it is not to be humiliated when there is a competitive situation.
Sports expert Tuomas Raja was impressed by Murro’s words towards his fierce competitor.
– It says a lot about Wilma as a person. Of course also about the culture of pole vaulting, Raja refers to the good-natured relationship between pole vaulters.
The story of Munich repeated itself
In Istanbul, Murto repeated the trick he did in the EC final in Munich. He has grown into a very tough competitor.
The starting points were the same as last summer. The result curve of the break before Istanbul was in a downward direction, although this was largely due to the Finn’s pole experiment.
However, in the qualifying Murto was really confident. In the final, he cleared heights of 460 and 470 on his first. However, at height 475, he found himself in a tight spot. Murto crossed that height in his last and kept his gold dream alive.
After this, Murto exceeded his hall record height of 480 on his first attempt.
– He was put on the bridge. The championship was already coming, but Sutej responded. That’s how an athlete is measured. Don’t hesitate and think that you’re in trouble here, Raja sneered.
Murro’s mental edge is extremely hard.
– When it’s the moment of truth, we put the best on the table. That was the hardest part of the evening, Raja said.
Thinking about summer, Murro’s mood bodes well. Raja believes that Murto will start the summer with 460 centimeter wings.
In the World Cup, the competition gets tougher when, for example, the tough Americans come along. Like Holly Bradshaw Urheilullu stated that at a hard basic level, the probability of achieving World Cup or Olympic medals increases.
Murto tried a new competition record 491 twice after securing the EC gold.
– He is not out of the medal fight there either. Those are the kind of results that jump from hard results in all competitions.