Kalle Mäkinen was already at top speed in the morning session at the Tampere WC swimming. In the evening, he clocked a new Finnish record in the 50-meter backstroke.
Jani Sievinen swam the Finnish record time of 25.99 in the 50m backstroke in July 1998, and 24 years later the promise of the future of Finnish swimming Kalle Mäkinen downright crushed it at the Tampere WC. Mäkinen already swam in the morning session with a time of 26.07 and did even better in the evening session, when the clock stopped at SE time 25.61.
– I already knew on the way that we are now quite close, when in the morning I was only ten minutes away. When I finished, it was a pretty good feeling, the satisfied record holder stated in an interview with Urheilu.
– Even in these competitions, I have improved a lot in the evening. In the morning it’s always a bit difficult for people in their fifties to swim, their bodies aren’t that awake. Now I knew before this evening session that my body feels good now. You just can’t make stupid mistakes, and that’s where it comes from.
The 20-year-old Mäkinen is used to beating Finland’s brightest swimming stars, for example, in last December’s Short Course Championship, he swam two SE times in addition to five championships, and just in the backstroke. At the same time, he ended his dream trip, in the 50-meter freestyle, his role model Ari-Pekka Liukkonen as the reigning Finnish champion.
In his training, Mäkinen has tried to improve every aspect and work hard every day without compromising. He believes that if he pays attention to the little things, the results will also improve.
How much can Mäkinen still afford to chip away at his record? He can’t answer that.
– I hope very much that we will still get there for the international readings, Mäkinen said.
The 50-meter backstroke world record of 23.71 is currently held by the United States by Hunter Armstrong on behalf of. The European record of 23.80 has been swum by Russia Kliment Kolesnikov.