Kristiina Mäkelä broke her record and advanced to the World Cup final with a medal in mind. Senni Salminen missed the final by a centimeter again. Ella Junnila, who missed the height qualification, let the tears come in the interview.
Kristiina Mäkelä leaped spectacularly into the finals at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon with his first jump. Mäkelä jumped his record 14.49, with which he improved his country’s record two weeks ago by two centimeters.
The qualifying limit for the final was 14.40, but a result of 14.27 was required for the final competition. Senni Salminen narrowly missed out on the final this time as well, as he jumped his best 14.21 in his second time. Last year, at the Tokyo Olympics, Salminen was a centimeter away, while Mäkelä was narrowly ahead.
In the end, the result of 29-year-old Mäkelä was the fourth best quote of the qualification. Known as a strong value competitor, the jumper reached the value competition final for the sixth time on the outdoor track.
Mäkelä said in the interview that he slept badly last night. In the morning, I felt dizzy, concussive and felt bad. However, he reminded that controlling such tensions is part of elite sports.
– You shouldn’t pay attention to them. My way is to go through joy and it works. Glad I found it. The point is already on the 30 meter, but it was already time, Mäkelä was happy.
Mäkelä has said that he will fight for a medal. With his record of 14.49, he is ninth in this season’s world statistics, including qualifying jumps.
– Yes, you can fight for medals there. It’s a triple jump and anything can happen. Of course, you also have to succeed. You certainly won’t get there by any average comparison. That is my only goal, says Mäkelä.
Salminen’s result was initially recorded as 14.22, but it was changed to 14.21 in the middle of the competition. However, the result is his third highest quote of the season. The Finnish record of 14.63 is from last year.
– I looked to see if it was enough and at some point I realized that it wasn’t enough. I discovered to my delight that I’m pretty good with it. I’m at the beginning of my journey and I know for sure that my time will come, says Salminen.
Is this much easier to deal with than back then in Tokyo?
– Yeah. Then I felt like I was going to die in that place. I’m really happy that I’ve come a long way, says Salminen.
Ella Junnila wept in disappointment
In the women’s height qualification, three Finns were seen in the same competition for the first time ever. Ella Junnila, Heta Tuuri and Sini Lälä each exceeded the height of 186, but 190 was not reached.
Junnila has suffered from injuries and she also had a little trouble before this competition season. Junnila said after the competition that the preparation for the competition went better than she expected, although the starting point was not ideal.
– Going into the summer was difficult because of a small injury. When I got to jump and there were no jumps below, it was difficult because of that. Despite today, I have full faith that it is there and it will come when the time is right. Today wasn’t it, Junnila said and burst into tears.
Has this been an emotionally difficult time?
– Yes, Junnila says with a trembling voice and wipes her tears.
– Probably everyone who tries something really hard and works for it, and I’ve also had a really good year of training and then there’s a small drop. In sports, when you’re looking for the top, sometimes it looks like this.
According to Junnila, she is physically in good shape, and there are no problems with the injury at the moment. After returning to Finland, he plans to jump in the Kaleva Games and then have training jumps before the European Championships in Munich.
Warholm made it to the final
Norwegian superstar Karsten Warholm won his heat in the 400 meters by sprinting, and his final time was 49.34. Warholm was injured in his season opener in June and has not competed since.
Warholm stated in the interview that he ran calmly, so it is difficult to draw conclusions about the actual condition. However, there are no sensations in the hind legs.
The fastest in the 400-meter hurdles was from the United States Khallifah Rosser with a time of 48.62. Warholm’s rival Ray Benjamin was third fastest, 49.06.
For Fajdek, Moukari’s World Cup gold
In the men’s singles final Pawel Fajdek won the world championship with the best result of this season. Fajdek threw his javelin to 81.98 meters and beat his countryman Wojciech Nowicki less than a meter apart.
Nowicki achieved silver with a result of 81.30 and the Norwegian Eivind Henriksen bronze 80.87.
The championship is the fifth in a row for the Pole. He has also won European Championship gold, but at the Tokyo Olympics he missed out on bronze.
Gidey took a wild beating
In the women’s 10,000 meters, we saw a fierce fight at the end, when Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey won the first world championship of his career. Gidey previously achieved bronze in Tokyo and silver at the World Championships in Doha in 2019.
Multiple prize winner in the four women’s track team Sifan Hassan was left fourth. The Dutchman turned on the blinker on the final straight and tried to get on the medals, but the Kenyans Hellen Obiri and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi took the duller medal.
The lacquer was modestly genuine
in 110 meter fences Elmo Lakka was far from his best of the season. Lakka finished seventh in the fourth heat with a time of 13.91, while his season’s best was 13.55 in May. Last year he also set the Finnish record of 13.31.
The fastest of the starters was the American Grant Hollowaywho clocked the time 13,14.