Athletics influencer Rolf Haikkola died at the age of 96 early on Friday.
–STT,
Jouko Vuolle,
Timo Uusitalo
Lasse Virénin coached to an Olympic champion Rolf Haikkola is dead. Haikkola’s death is confirmed to STT by his longtime friend Ole Forsström.
– I remember him as a very warm and constructive person. He was a really good coach, always calm. He was always able to take the circumstances well into account, praises Virén to Urheilu.
Virén says that if the competition or practice went well or badly, Haikkola always had something to say about it.
– He was a conversational coach who always gave an explanation as to why this matter should be done this way or that way. Our relationship was close to a father-son relationship, describes Virén.
Haikkola was born in Myrskylä on July 14, 1927.
Haikkola was chosen as the coach of the century in the centenary vote of the Finnish Sports Association in 2006. In the 1960s, he ran the running team known as the Raaka-Rolle team, which included, among others Pekka Juutilainen and Fairy Ceder.
– He had good ideas and advice about things, as well as his own methods, when he had been running the Raaka-Rolle team for many years while running with several different athletes, recalls Virén.
“Sometimes it felt bad, but that’s how others felt too”
As a coach, Haikkola became a particularly visible figure after he piloted Virén into an iconic star of Finnish endurance running, a four-time Olympic champion. Virén won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Olympics.
– Haikkola believed in his own work and knew how to demand a lot from an athlete. Even though it felt bad at times, it also felt bad for the other runners, Virén pointed out.
Before his coaching career, Haikkola was a high-quality runner of medium and long distances. In 1954, he participated in the 5,000 meters of the European Championships, where he finished 11th. His Vito record was 14.14.2. According to Tilastopaja, the athletics statistics service, Haikkola represented Helsinki Kisa-Veikko.
Haikkola also served as the long-term CEO of the Sports Association in 1977–1986.