The opening of the Spear Promise race season in Finland will be postponed.
Spear thrower Oliver Helander withdraws from the Espoo GP athletics competition next Wednesday. The reason for the withdrawal is a shoulder aches that occurred when Helander opened his race season in Dessau, Germany on May 25th.
Helander, 25, threw a season-leading domestic result of 80.36 meters in Dessau.
– The shoulder felt a bit in Dessau as well, but didn’t bother me significantly during the race. However, the shoulder ached somewhat after the race. It seemed sensible to skip the Espoo race and throw it next time in Turku, Helander said by phone.
At the Turku competition, Helander referred to Paavo Nurmi’s competitions, which are scheduled for 14 June.
Helander’s personal coach for the first season Tero Pitkämäki is not worried about the situation of his protector. According to Pitkämäki, Helander could throw in Espoo for his fitness, but anti-doping rules prevent participation.
Helander’s shoulder will be treated next Monday with a cortisone spike, after which the athlete will be subjected to a three-day doping regimen. For this reason, Wednesday’s competition in Espoo is out of the question.
According to Pitkämäki, the inflamed condition of the shoulder must be controlled to avoid unnecessary risks. The shoulder of Helander’s throwing hand was cut in 2020. According to Pitkämäki, irritation of an old injury is common.
– When the shoulder is irritated, it sheds for a long time. The whole summer would go easy with fear. It is better to eliminate inflammation with a cortisone spike, which is a common procedure with javelin throwers, Pitkämäki said over the phone.
Pitkämäki recalled having had a throwing hand on his shoulder from 4 to 5 cortisone injections in his career. Helander also has experience with several cortisone injections.
– I took one cortisone spike before the Olympics, and my shoulder was good in late summer. This is nothing new, Helander said.
The approximator does not bother
The first winter season of cooperation between Helander and Pitkämäki was very successful. Both the shooter and the coach have been confident about long throws since the beginning of the season.
– Kroppa wasn’t in a good mood yet in Dessau. Compared to that, 80.36 was just ok, Pitkämäki estimates.
In the Dessau race, it was noticeable that there was a large variance in the dimensions of Helander’s throws, from 73 to 80 meters. Pitkämäki put the scatter on the cautious spike.
– Oliver only had time to do one exercise. The plan was for Dessau to start traffic at a light pace and lift it round by round. The result rose accordingly. There was room for improvement in the next race. It is normal for an athlete to be timid in the first race after an approach injury, Pitkämäki said.
The coach trusts the season to go according to plan.
– If the cortisone spike were not taken now, the problem could last for the World Cup. It would then be difficult to throw in the qualifiers and finals.
– Paavo Nurmi Games is strongly involved in the plans, Pitkämäki said.
The third race of the domestic GP series will be competed next Wednesday in Espoo. The race night can be watched on ‘s channels.