Oliver Helander will compete in the Lausanne Diamond League on Friday. The Finns are also there Viivi Lehikoinen and Wilma Murto.
Oliver from Helander has been talked about as a future 90-meter thrower for years. The 26-year-old javelin thrower has been known to be a natural talent as a thrower, both in throwing technique and speed running.
However, Helander has not been able to break that magical limit – yet. Last summer, it was 17 centimeters away. Helander has been able to throw mainly one to two hard throws in competitions. It has often brought top results, but consistency has been lacking.
A couple of weeks ago, at the Paavo Nurme Games, the situation changed completely. Helander raced the best series of his career, in which, with the exception of one overstepping throw, each throw was over 82 meters and the second place in the competition came off with a top result of 87.32. The series 82.99 – 82.43 – x – 85.53 – 87.32 – 86.47 came with throws that were not technically perfect.
– The support is still such that it pumps at the end, it doesn’t hold properly. That’s why the hand starts from below, from the side, Helander said at a remote information conference organized by his club Oulu Pyrinnö.
Helander’s coach Tero Pitkämäki according to which the thrower will never reach 100% technical performance in the javelin throw. On the other hand, 90 percent in all areas often results in a very successful performance, and Helander strives for that as well.
Sports expert Mikaela Ingberg reminds that the margin of error increases when the thrower increases the power of his throw. At the same time, the window in which everything has to fall into place shrinks. Although Helander succeeded well in the throws in Turku, Ingberg still needs more courage from him to run at speed and the courage to seek a proper tightening before the line.
Mikaela Ingberg estimates that Helander needs more sturdiness in his supporting leg.
“When you hit the support leg on the ground, and a weight of almost a thousand kilos is formed on it from the spike upwards. When it holds, the power is better transferred upwards.”
“If the support is soft and gives way, the benefit is not maximal.”
If the support fails or the timing of the throw fails, it can be seen and felt in the hand stroke.
“The lower the hand is, the more the wrong kind of twisting occurs on the shoulder. With that, it is also more difficult to get the spear in a good position.”
In his own competition career, Tero Pitkämäki based his throwing strongly on footwork, so Ingberg believes that Helander’s problem will be corrected with Pitkämäki’s guidance.
Ingberg, who has achieved WC and EC bronze in his own javelin throwing career, looks at throwing through equipment control and the use of the upper body. Helander has to fix that too.
– I would like to see the throwing hand go higher. Then there would be less pressure on the shoulder.
The accordion of performance reliability was big
Helander is also shaky when it comes to equipment management. For example, in the opening race of the season in Doha, the headwind raised the level of equipment management requirements and highlighted mistakes. Helander’s result was three ticks on the record. India didn’t have the same problem With Neeraj Choprawho won the race with a score of 88.67.
– When we start talking about long throws, equipment management must be in order.
Helander broke the 80-meter barrier for the first time in 2017, when his stick flew 80.25. Already the following year, he raced to a result of 88.02, but a shoulder injury, which has already been operated on once in the last couple of seasons, has taxed the level of results.
According to Ingberg, the compromise of Helander’s performance reliability has been too big, and the technical performance has been affected especially by health problems. Helander has had them for years, ever since his handball days.
Read also: Oliver Helander is the mysterious superstar of Finnish athletics, about whom no one seems to know anything – handball high school in Sweden was unexpectedly interrupted when the multi-talented, comfortable in his own circumstances, chose the javelin throw
Helander missed the EC team competitions held on the Midsummer weekend, because he received a cortisone injection in his throwing hand, and the waiting period for the injection is ten days. The timing was the best for Helander, considering the World Championships in Budapest.
According to Ingberg, pricks are not taken for fun, and Pitkämäki said that the aim of the injection is to alleviate inflammatory conditions. Otherwise, both Helander and Pitkämäki assured that there is nothing dramatic about taking the injection and that it is routine for Helander.
– It helps recovery when you have to throw more in July. Just as a precaution, that the hand stays in shape throughout the season, Helander said.
Several more meters to come
Pitkämäki emphasized that the level of making his shield increases in competitions. Inberg thinks it is now important that Helander gets to throw in tough, international competitions.
That’s what Finland’s number one thrower has ahead of him, because today, Friday, he will throw in Lausanne’s Diamond League. Next week, the program includes the high-level Oulu GP and after that the Mikkeli Games, where Tero Pitkämäki throws the starting throw of the javelin competition. Before the World Championships, Helander still has the Kaleva competitions in Lahti on his schedule.
– Hard competitions held abroad develop the most, because there is not necessarily a coach to give instructions and the athlete is often on his own. If you can’t find the technology right away, you just have to find it yourself and get the hang of it, says Ingberg.
In Pitkämäki’s opinion, the most important thing at the moment is to keep Helander’s health good, to compete at suitable intervals and to maintain consistency. Helander’s physical performance is so high that he can throw far.
– I still have several meters to come, but it requires that there are no problems and that the work is refined forward, and that there are no setbacks physically or technically, Pitkämäki stated.
The growth process has begun
Oliver Helander is now in his second season under Tero Pitkämäki’s coaching and the cooperation has already produced results. According to Pitkämäki, the second year has been easier, because they now have much more experience in how to operate and which problem areas to focus on.
– Maybe something has been learned from the mistakes, Helander stated and said that he is looking for even series in the future competitions above all.
– The result should start at the top. but it’s not something forced. good technical stuff, so yes the stick will fly even further at some point.
Ingberg has followed the team’s cooperation with a good mood, because Pitkämäki is an extremely accurate coach for him. Pitkämäki knows what is needed in terms of everyday requirements to become the best in the world. It’s not necessarily about big things, but when a lot of small things are put in order, they start to show in the results as well.
– The growth process has begun. Now the right steps have already been taken and they are on their way to their goal, Ingberg describes.
There are medal opportunities
This summer, the international level has been steady and Helander is currently in fifth place in the world statistics with his top throw of the summer of 87.32. Many top pitchers are currently suffering from minor injuries, including the number one pitcher With Jakub Vadlejch (89,51) has had problems with the ankle.
Injuries may raise Helander’s stock in view of the World Cup, but Ingberg believes that the level will rise towards the end of the summer.
– The early season may not have been as good as previous years, but long throws are still needed for medals. At least 87 meters is needed, says Ingberg.
– There are possibilities. But in value races, the conditions can be anything. That’s when the men on the line are really measured, who among them is the best.
The adult competitions have not been successful for Helander, as he failed to qualify for the first EC, WC and Olympic competitions as well. It has created a certain kind of caution in Helander, but Ingberg thinks it suits Helander’s character well.
– Terokaan never went to the games banging on braces and threatening, but showed his reliability by throwing.
Ingberg expects that Helander will succeed in breaking the 90-meter mark – at the latest when the technical error has been corrected.
According to Ingberg, the growth to become a top athlete and the journey to the top of the world needs changes. For Helander, this necessary change may well be Pitkämäki’s coaching.
– It’s great that Tero’s and Oliver’s paths would cross. We will get a lot more joy from Oliver in the years to come.