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– Yes, I thought it would be a blast in May and at the same time run under 3.36 and take a place in the European Championships, says Santtu Heikkinen without any kind of threat, eyes fixed on the rolling asphalt under the car.
Heikkinen, 21, drives towards Pirkkahalli in Tampere and talks about the result limit of the European Championships in Rome. He is one of the most promising Finnish milers at the moment.
Heikkinen lives in Lempäääla and is going to do training to prepare for the competition.
Heikkinen broke in January Pekka Päivärinna of the more than 50-year-old 3,000-meter hall-SE.
However, Heikkinen’s main race is 1,500 meters. There, he still has 1.29 seconds to go to the Finnish record.
Heikkinen’s goal is to run next June in the European Championships in Rome and later in August in the Olympic Games in Paris. The trick would require improving both our own and Finland’s record. The EC result limit of 3.36,00 is harder than the Finnish record.
– At this moment, it seems that you have to break the direct result limit if you want to get to the European Championships. The challenging thing is that the games are already in June. You have to train so that you are in top shape already in May.
Heikkinen dares to say his goals out loud
Heikkinen’s car arrives in front of Pirkkahalli. He throws the bag over his shoulder and walks inside to do the exercise. Coach Veli-Matti Ranta already waiting inside. Heikkinen changes his slippers and goes for a walk.
Many followers of athletics may be surprised by Heikkinen’s words, because Pekka Vasalan The Finnish record of 1,500 meters has stood for more than half a century.
The Olympic winning run time of 3:36.33 is from 1972 in Munich.
– Santtu knows his level well and he is really determined and brave, especially for such a young athlete. He is also a realist and thus knows where he is going, says Heikkinen’s coach Veli-Matti Ranta.
Not all athletes dare to say their goals out loud in public.
– Why can’t you say? When you say your goals out loud, they are clearer to you, explains Heikkinen.
Doesn’t that create excessive pressure?
– I don’t take any pressure. If it doesn’t work, it’s no problem at all, continues Heikkinen.
“I consider it realistic.â€
Let’s do a little comparison.
In the 1972 Olympic race, Pekka Vasala was 24 years old. Heikkinen will turn 22 next summer.
In the record year, Vasala’s training kilometers were around 6,900.
Santtu Heikkinen ran 4,100 kilometers last season. The goal for this season is 5,000 kilometers.
Vasala, who is in great shape, ran the 800 meters just before the Olympic Games in 1:44.5. Heikkinen’s record is 1:47.97.
Heikkinen has watched Pekka Vasala’s SE gold race on video several times, especially when he was younger.
– An impressive run. If there had been a faster pace at the beginning, it would certainly have been harder at the end, says Heikkinen.
We asked two experts for their opinion on Heikkinen’s SE goal.
– Yes, it is possible, but then the split time of 1,200 meters should be 2.52–53 for corners, inches Pekka Vasala’s coach Kari Sinkkonen and thinks it’s a good thing that a young athlete dares to say his goals out loud.
Along the same lines, the 1,500 meter European championship winner himself and currently working as a coach Ari Suhonen.
– Absolutely, Heikki has the potential to break Finland’s record next summer. I even consider it realistic. Also Joonas Rinne can do it. Let’s see who can make it first.
The European level at 1,500 meters is rock hard
Heikkinen prepares for indoor practice. The first part of the workout includes three one and a half kilometer stretches. He cools them casually hard and the lactate meter shows 2.3 millimoles after three strokes.
The European level of 1,500 meters is really rock hard at the moment. In the final of the last World Cup, the best three came from Europe and eight of the twelve runners were European.
– It is more difficult to get to the European Championships than to the Olympic Games, says Heikkinen.
The claim sounds strange, but the reason is that more than the planned 32 runners have already run below the result limit of the European Championships.
The hardness of the European level has surprised the drafters of the border and the race organizers. At this moment, it is necessary to break the score line in order to get to the Rome Games. It is exceptional.
Access to the Olympics is made easier by the fact that more runners are included in Paris and there is a possibility to get there also through the ranking. In addition, in the Olympic ranking, the time to produce a result is longer than in the European Championships held in June.
Heikkinen, who is studying digital business at the University of Turku School of Economics, knows how to relate his own opportunities.
– The Olympics are the biggest thing you can get to as an all-around athlete. If you could come along next summer and next time you could think about how to get by.
– I would say that five years is the time to increase the quantities and powers, so after that you will have your own potential.
Heikkinen takes a short break after long strokes and changes his spikes. After that, he sweeps 3 x 200 meters with a short return. Then he does a final workout and takes a shower. The exercise is in the package. Next, it’s time to eat next to the training hall.
Heikkinen wants to know how exercises affect the body
Heikkinen started athletics at the age of 9 and joined Lempääälä Kisa. He tried almost all sports, including pole vaulting. In addition to athletics, he practiced many other sports, such as football, ice hockey, swimming, skiing and orienteering.
Heikkinen has always been interested in coaching as well. He has dug up information on the internet about how the world’s top athletes train.
– I want to know what happens in the body during training and what response is sought with certain types of training.
Heikkinen is a special young athlete in that he also designs the basic structure of his own training program himself, before going through it with coach Veli-Matti Ranna. The system has worked.
– It is somehow easier because of my own schedules.
Heikkinen listens to his body’s sensations with a keen ear.
– I have received a lot of compliments on the fact that I know how to listen to my body and can even stop training if necessary.
– I try to balance rest and training. It is, after all, the secret to development.
The athletics indoor season is still in progress, but after that Heikkinen will go to a high place camp in South Africa. Soon after that, he is looking for tough competitions in Europe.
Top conditions and a race full of tough enough opponents would make it possible to undercut the EC limit.