Sweden was once again too tough for Finland in the track and field matches at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. Coaching manager Tuomo Salonen sees bright prospects for Finnish athletics despite the loss.
STT Sports
Petra Manner
Emma Jump
Matti Lehtisaari
Finnish athletics has been on a strong rise this summer, but the traditional match against Sweden ended again with the blue and yellow cheering at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
Sweden won the men’s national match 227.5–204.5 and the women’s national match 225.5–205.5. Sweden was also better in boys and girls. Finland’s only victory in the match was won by the walkers with a clear score of 44–21.
The Finnish team was exhausted when the European champions Top Raitanen and Wilma Murto had to withdraw from the international match due to illness. Spearman Oliver Helander missed the match against Sweden.
– As a whole, it brightens up when you lose to Sweden. It’s always sad to lose to Sweden. We really wanted to end our losing streak, but now we have to wait until next year, Finnish Sports Federation’s top sports coaching manager Tuomo Salonen said.
The last time Finland beat Sweden was in 2018 in Tampere in the men’s match. In the women’s match, the previous victory was from 2015. The last time Finland won both the men’s and women’s matches was in 1998.
Salonen estimates that the national matches started on the wrong track already on Saturday evening. Finland didn’t manage to finish any more in Sunday’s races.
– The poles went out already since Saturday. We didn’t get the corrected course, the result is shown on the board. The long season was already starting to show, it was difficult to stay in top condition until September, Salonen thought.
Even though Sweden came along once again, Salonen sees the outlook for Finnish athletics as very bright.
– A big team in the World Cup competitions and good rankings in the top ten. Four medals at the European Championships was a pot that Finland had not won in 38 years of prestigious athletics competitions, Salonen reminded.
Athletes who have been successful in youth competitions have been bred to become successful in adult competitions.
– Now young people have an energetic grip on the international level of adults. We are already doing well in the European Championships, but medals at the world level require even harder results than Finland’s records, Salonen pointed out.
Sara Kuivisto decided again with her final shot
It was one of the highlights of Sunday Sara Kuiviston a tasty victory in the women’s ton vitos race. Kuivisto, who already won the 800-meter race on Saturday, took first place in the final stretch, even though he is still suffering from leg problems.
Kuivisto was in two stages of his participation in the 1,500 meters.
– Yes, it was considered because of my legs. But my legs felt even better than Saturday when I went for a run in the morning, Kuivisto said.
The guidelines for the future are now clear.
– Now I want to get myself in shape and start with a clean slate. Next season I’ll be hitting again, but now I really need to get my legs in shape, Kuivisto emphasized.
Lassi Etelätalo: “You couldn’t count as a joke”
Celebrating the men’s javelin throw victory Lassi Etelätalo admitted that the victory would have tasted even better if Sweden had fallen in the overall results as well.
– Yes, this experience will be a bit lacking if there is no total profit. In Keihää we also had a triple win as our goal, but that didn’t happen either. It went with a bit of a win, Etelätalo, who threw the winning throw 82.30, won.
Etelätalo knew that a throw of more than 80 meters was needed in order not to surprise the Swedes.
– It was nice to throw today, when my body had recovered from the previous competitions. I couldn’t count as a joke when I knew that the Swedes could throw 80 meters. I knew I had to succeed.
Etelätalo threw for the EC javelin bronze in Munich in August.
– Definitely the best summer of my career. The performance level has been high in each of my competitions. It’s nice to compete when you know you can throw far.
The total audience of more than 44,000 spectators created a warm atmosphere at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. The international match returned to the Olympic Stadium after an eight-year hiatus.