VAASA.
Finnish men’s discus throw is one of those athletics that hasn’t been talked about much for years.
No puckmen have been seen in the value games. The general level has been weak. It has been speculated year after year whether the soon-to-be 50-year-old will win Franz Kruger once again the championship of the Kaleva Games.
However, better things are on the horizon for a long time. I got a taste of this on Friday, when I was only 18 years old Mico Lampinen became discus champion with his handsome record of 57.29.
In the qualification thrown on the same day, Lampinen threw his then record 55.87. In one day, the old record was improved by almost three meters.
With his latest quote, Lampinen jumped to second place in Finland’s all-time under-20 statistics. The SE of young people is Timo Sinervon 61.16 thrown 30 years ago.
Sinervo is also so far the only Finnish man who has won medals in the discus throw at the Junior World Championships. Lampinen has a chance to do the same at the under-20 world championships held in Peru in August.
– At the Under-20 World Championships, I’m going to chase a medal. Then next year here (in Tampere) we will go for the first place in the under-20 European Championships, Lampinen reveals his tough goals for the near future.
Made a discus thrower
Parametric and reaching Lampinen is like made for discus throwing.
– If you think about what throwers are like in the puck and puck, they are long-limbed. Mico is really gifted in this category anthropometrically. Tall guy, long limbs, well-known discus coach Anssi Mäkinen describes.
In men’s puck, there were no credible throwers of an international level for years. There has been a shortage of inspiring examples.
Ending up in discus throwing started from the athlete’s own desire to try the sport. As a child, Mico Lampinen played all other athletics, but he felt that as a tall guy, he has more potential in throwing sports.
Lampinen is a promising type of thrower also in moukari. In that, he forms his peers Aatu Kangasniemi with an interesting duo. They can fight for good positions in the youth World Championships.
Meeting with the Olympic champion
Lampinen comes from a talented throwing family, as his older brother is two years older Max Lampinen moukaro became European youth champion a year ago.
The boys are coached by their father Tero.
– You always feel like winning in the ring in the moukari. He is a good sparring partner, Mico says of his talented older brother.
In discus throwing, Lampinen has watched a lot, for example by Robert Harting and current peaks Mykolas Aleknan, Daniel Ståhl mixed Kristjan Cehin excerpts.
Finnish star Ståhl has become known to Finns for the fact that he can also answer questions in Finnish. Lampinen says that he has met a personable thrower, but he has not been able to chat yet.
– I’ve been in the same elevator. There has been no talk yet. The elevator was pretty full, so I didn’t bother to get out, Lampinen tells about his encounter with the world champion and the Olympic champion.
Other talents too
Lampinen plans to make a decision on his final choice of sport in a few years. Although Lampinen is currently the most interesting puck promise, Anssi Mäkinen reminds us that there are other good throwers.
A little older Rami Kankaanpää mixed Antti Pränni startle the 60 meter limit. Twenty Juho Suominen was seventh in the under-20 European Championships held last summer.
Mäkinen says that in Finland, ring sports have had their own second-level camp, where talented throwers with the right proportions have been gathered.
– There is a good situation on the side of young men. There is a long streak including Mico. There is still work to be done in terms of how to jump from it to the adult series and throw well over 60 meters. However, we currently have a much better future on the men’s side than on the women’s side, says Mäkinen.
According to Mäkinen, the last time the situation was more positive was in the early 2000s, when there were several throwers over 60 meters.
– There was, among others, Timo Sinervoa, Janne Hummasteniemä and Jouni from Helppikanga. In 2001, the average of the top ten athletes of all time was made. Then Timo Tompuri threw SE 69.62 and six guys threw well over 60 meters.
– It has been steadily going down. At the Lappeeranta Kaleva Games (2019) we saw rock bottom, but now luckily it has gone up a bit.