will show the World Athletics Indoor Championships on its channels and follow the competitions moment by moment on its website from March 1st to 3rd. You can find shipping information at this link.
Two prestigious athletics competitions in the same summer make many athletes make big bets. Only in his third season training for his new favorite distance, 800 meters Eveliina Määttänen is one of them.
– We had a pretty clear idea that we want to fully invest in this dream sports year. A bit with the mentality that it’s now or never, says Määttänen, 28.
In June are the EC competitions in Rome, whose result limit Määttänen has already broken. In August, the sights are on the Olympic Games in Paris. Määttänen is currently in a good 25th place in the 800 meters Olympic ranking and is going strong to the Games.
– Yes, the Olympics are little Eve’s dream. Those Olympians have more weight, but yes, I have big goals for the European Championships as well.
This weekend, Määttänen, 28, will start the prestigious competition season in Glasgow. He runs in the World Athletics Indoor Championships. The first stage is to advance from Friday’s preliminaries.
– Yes, it always goes that way in value races, that you have to think one race at a time.
Määttänen goes to the heats of the World Championships with only one start this season. However, the new Finnish record of 2:01.57 in the 800-meter indoor track remained from the competition in Torun, Poland. At the same time, the runner improved his indoor track record by almost three seconds.
– We didn’t know how to wait such a long time.
Expectations were affected by the fact that the preparation behind the SE result was not quite optimal.
– In the last week of the January camp, my back got a little irritated. There was a small spinal injury. I got less than one running training before the Polish competition, Määttänen explains.
He also missed the SM halls and has not competed in the winter season in his home country. My back is fine, and it doesn’t hurt to run.
Rapid rise to the international level
Eveliina Määttänen enjoyed figure skating when she was younger. However, at the beginning of my teenage years, athletics and track laps with and without fences were chosen as sports. In 2019, he won the Finnish championship at the Kaleva Games in the 400-meter hurdles.
However, Määttänen’s body could not withstand the impactful fencing training and he changed sports. The print started coming. In one season, the 800m record was improved by more than 11 seconds.
The Slovenian coach’s spouse was also in the background Jan Petrac a new type of training programming that worked brilliantly for the runner. Määttänen was suddenly at international speed after one training season. He made it to the European Championships in Munich and the World Championships in Oregon.
The next season was even better. Määttänen broke the two-minute ghost limit for the first time at the Paavo Nurmi Games last June. Then the clocks stopped at 1:59.96.
Later in the summer at the World Championships in Budapest, he put even better. Two minutes was broken again and the time was 1:59.81. The result was only four tenths Sara Lappalainen of the Finnish record for outdoor tracks.
Mountain training was a new experience
After last summer, Määttänen decided together with Petrac that he would not compromise on the training conditions at all. They focused on improving durability and also wanted to try high-altitude camping.
– We think that now there will be no compromises with the training conditions.
The first foreign camp was already at the end of September in Font Romeu. The place is located in the French mountains at an altitude of about 1,800 meters and there is an old training center.
– Our entire training group was there, eight runners, and the weather was great.
Määttänen’s spouse, Jan Petrac, has a total of a dozen to coach. Some of them are foreigners.
The camp lasted a month, after which the training continued in Finland. Next, Määttänen traveled to South Africa for about a month-long camp.
South Africa’s Potchefstroom is a well-known training place also among Finnish runners.
– I would describe it as a runner’s paradise. There are absolutely amazing grass track courts, which saves the strain on the legs. There are also good conditions for strength training and track training.
Potchefstroom is located a little lower, at an altitude of about 1,400 meters above sea level.
– That’s why it’s good to be a little lower when we do a lot of lactic acid strokes that are part of 800 meter training.
The November camp was again about a month long. We only went home now to turn around, because the new camp at the same place started already at the turn of the year.
Määttänen has been satisfied with the camps and the recovery has gone well.
Remote work from the mountains
Exercising in the mountains in the high atmosphere is tougher than at sea level because the air in the mountains is thinner and it is harder to breathe.
– It’s amazing how much slower you have to run there, says Määttänen.
Heart rates rise higher in mountain conditions. High-altitude training improves an athlete’s blood values, oxygen uptake and thus endurance performance.
Before last September, Määttänen had never trained in the mountains. On the other hand, his coach Jan Petrac had some experience with it. In the beginning, training was cautious.
– We had to feel our own feelings quite a lot, and we really moved forward accordingly. Now, when there are already three camps behind, there are positive experiences.
– When you have come back to sea level from a high place, the feeling has been really great, describes Määttänen.
He received a grant from the Ministry of Education for this season, which has contributed to several camp periods.
– It’s great when you get to live the everyday life of a top athlete.
In addition to training, the everyday life of an elite athlete usually does not include work, but in this respect Määttänen is an exception.
He is a pharmacist by training and worked for a year and a half in the pharmaceutical and health wholesale trade.
Määttänen can work remotely in camp conditions.
– I have a great employer, and I can also work from there in the mountains of South Africa or France.
Määttänen is part of the company’s marketing team and also updates social media.
– I try to work about 20 hours a week in the afternoons. Mostly so that first there is a morning workout, then we come to eat and rest. After that, a few hours of work and then we go to another training session.
Working alongside sports is not suitable for all athletes, but Määttänen considers it a good solution. At the same time, it brings additional income to the athlete’s economy.
– I think it fits well and is a good time pass. It is not stressful because the work is not tied to working hours.
Määttänen and Petrac will go back to the mountains of South Africa immediately after the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. The aim is to compete already in May.
– Yes, I would like to run a good record improvement on my 800 meter record next summer, and the final places in the prestigious races would be really sweet.
will show the World Athletics Indoor Championships on its channels and follow the competitions moment by moment on its website from March 1st to 3rd. You can find shipping information at this link.