Tested his Olympic fitness on his home field in Porvoo Sara Lappalainen ran the rarely contested 1,000 meters in a new Finnish record time of 2:36.15.
Lappalainen improved the Finnish record he ran in 2020 by almost three seconds. A strong wind was blowing on the back straight of the Porvoo sports field and Lappalainen was the only participant in the race, and he had no traction help. However, the wind did not bother the runner.
– The wind is just a state of mind, acknowledged Lappalainen after the run.
The 1,000-meter race was another part of the general training for the Olympics, namely Lappalainen ran the 400 meters, known as the acid race, less than an hour later. It was timed in 54.84, and was only 5 hundredths of a second behind Lappalainen’s record.
The runs said that Lappalainen is ready to compete in the 1,500 meters of the Paris Olympics.
– The run gave me faith and gave me additional data that I can do it, I don’t get tired easily.
It was a somewhat “Spongebob-like” combined race, i.e. two races with a short recovery. Lappalainen has previously made a similar combo in the European team championships.
– I only feel better the more I can run. I don’t get tired, I don’t feel it anywhere.
Two and a half weeks in mountain conditions
Lappalainen has been camping for the past two and a half weeks in simulated mountain conditions, in a so-called alpine room at Helsinki’s Mäkelänrinne Sports Academy. It was a basic training period.
– After having acidified a lot all the time, now it’s back to basic training. There were some health challenges at the end, but I got back on my feet, Lappalainen says.
– I’m surprised that this felt so easy, he said about the Porvoon runs.
Last year, a Lappish person had a challenging experience in an alpine hut, when the altimeter was accidentally set too high, but now everything worked out. The altitude of his room was now adjusted to 2,200 meters.
– I’m usually higher, but now that it’s a bit more power-weighted, I was a bit lower.
This is Lappalainen’s second Olympic Games. Last time in Tokyo, he participated in both the 800 meters and the 1,500 meters and improved the Finnish records of both distances in both the preliminaries and the semifinals. Now the journey is only 1,500 meters.
– The condition is better than before Tokyo. I’m more confident and can handle a faster pace.
At the Olympics, the opposition is world class, but Lappalainen feels confident.
– I’m not a one-tactic runner, everything suits me.
Coach Suhonen is satisfied with the training
Lappalainen’s coach Ari Suhonen still holds the men’s 800m Finnish record. It is really rare that the coach and the coached have the same Finnish records for the distance.
Coach Suhonen was really satisfied with his protégé’s general practice for the Olympics.
– The best part was the upward trend on both trips. The last 200 meters came well with a ton and the last hundred meters also with 400 meters. It bodes well.
The coach also thinks that Lappalainen is in better shape than before Tokyo.
– He is ready to run even less than four minutes at a ton speed. And I believe that he would be ready to run under 1.59 even in the race, says Suhonen.
Lappalainen’s SE in 1,500 meters is 4.02.35 and in 800 meters 1.59.41.
Lappalainen and Suhonen leave for Paris on Monday. They first go to the preparatory camp for Finnish track and field athletes in the French champagne region, Reims. The place is located about 140 kilometers from Paris, but the journey takes about 40 minutes by bullet train.
– Kisakylä is quite a stressful environment to be in for long periods of time, so it’s good that you don’t have to be there for a terribly long time, says Lappalainen.
At the Olympic Games in Paris, the 1,500 meters are run with a new system: everyone has heats, but the next one is only based on rankings, not on time at all. The best placed runners after those who went on to the next day can aim for the next place through the collecting lots.
– At first I thought that there was no point in that, but then I thought that it’s good to get another seam if it fails, reflects Suhonen.
Those who go straight to the semi-finals get one day off. The women’s 1,500 meter heats will be run on Tuesday, August 6.
You can watch the entire program of athletics at the Paris Olympics and the Finns here.