Kristiina Mäkelä is fighting for the tenth Kaleva Games championship of her career in Joensuu. The athlete, who is focused on the European Championships, does not want to talk about questionable angles anymore.
Laura Arffman,
Joel Sippola
Triple Jumper Kristiina Mäkelä is already a chance for the tenth WC gold of his career on the outdoor tracks at the Joensuu Kaleva Games. He has seven consecutive wins. He won his first outdoor track championship gold at the age of 16.
The weekend in Joensuu is of course important for Mäkela this time as well, but he approaches the competition with the European Championships in a couple of weeks in mind. The seasoned finalist of the prize competition has set his goal in Munich to win an EC medal.
The women’s triple jump qualification of the Kaleva Games will be contested on Friday from the beginning of the evening, and the final competition will be held on Saturday evening.
– I start the qualifying with a flying speed of six steps, i.e. not at full speed. The qualifying limit is 12.60. I believe that it will work, even if you jump a little behind the plank.
It’s 17 days until the triple jump finals at the World Championships in Oregon. Mäkelä has been known in recent years as an athlete who competes sparingly. He wants to maximize the recovery time this time as well.
– In the final, I may not jump all the jumps if I feel like it. We’ll see depending on the day. Of course, we fight for victory, but we don’t make any choices that might hinder the European Championships, Mäkelä states.
Mäkelä jumped her record 14.48 in the women’s triple jump WC qualification. In the final, Mäkelä finished ninth with a result of 14.18. He was the second best European at the World Championships.
This summer, the athlete has improved twice on last year’s record of 14.41. In European statistics, he is third. You can say that Mäkelä is currently in good shape.
– The general state of being in the body is good. There is nothing that has wrecked the body. I believe that the same magic will work at the end of summer as well, Mäkelä is confident.
Tough duel known
A tough race can be expected for the Finnish championship, when the top-fit Mäkelä and Kaleva, who is looking for her first win at the Kaleva Games in the triple jump Senni Salminen meet
A couple of years ago, Salminen aimed for the long jump at the Kaleva Games, where he won the championship with his record. Last year, he didn’t get to compete in the event at all.
– We know a good race, Mäkelä is happy.
– The Kaleva Games is such an important event that it always fits into the calendar. We go there to find the kind of positive feeling that can be found in Finnish top sports.
Mäkelä recently criticized the perspective of the women’s triple jump at the World Championships on her Instagram account. He criticized how the race organizers had given cameramen permission to film the race from an angle where the legs of the athletes could be seen. Mäkelä also did not digest how the pictures in question had been published in the media.
Mäkelä did not want to comment on the matter to Urheilu at the preliminary event of the Kaleva Games.
– Now there is peace of competition both in the Kaleva Games and in the European Championships. Let’s focus on that.
Watch Mäkelä’s record jump in the video.