Finland’s javelin is not in competitive shape at the European Championships in Munich.
14:49•Updated 15:21
Oliver Helander withdraws from the Finnish European Championship team due to a rib injury. He was injured last Sunday in the first round of the finals of the Kaleva Games.
The 25-year-old Helander confirmed his retirement to Urheilu.
– The side has healed so slowly that there is no possibility of throwing next week in Munich. I went to Vaasa today to try to throw, but nothing came of it, Helander said by phone.
According to Helander, throwing at full speed in next Friday’s European Championship qualification is out of the question, because at the moment throwing from a place in general causes pain.
– I have been able to do punching exercises relatively well, but I haven’t been able to do any running, jumping or other explosive training after the Kaleva Games. The injury has affected the rinks quite a lot.
Helander’s back was magnetically scanned after the Kaleva Games, but the tests did not reveal any injuries. A new magnetic resonance imaging is ahead probably already tomorrow, this time from the side.
– There might be an injury. If there’s nothing bigger, I might still be able to throw this season. I would really like to throw, because I felt so good in the warm-up for the Kaleva Games. I still believe that I can throw far this season if only I can get my body in shape.
– I would have liked to throw in Munich, it’s impossible. If I had been fit, I would have had a chance to make it. But this is how it is sometimes, says Helander.
Javelin throw coach Tero Pitkämäki confirmed to Urheilu that he will be throwing in place of Helander in Munich Toni Keränen.
– The decision was easy in the way that a good substitute is waiting to get to the Games, Pitkämäki says.
Pitkämäki, who works as Helander’s personal trainer, estimates that his protégé’s problems can be traced back to some degree of rupture.
– You may find some type of muscle tear on the side, which has caused a protective cramp in the lower back area. It’s hardly a big deal, but it will take two or three weeks to heal.