Finland’s European Championship winners Saga Vanninen and Veera Mattila can participate in the under-23 games in 2025 as well. According to Mattila, the event gives athletes motivation to continue their career.
The under-23 European Championships in Athletics is an exceptional prestigious competition event for young people in that an athlete can compete there even twice.
In Espoo, the youngest athletes of the Games were born in 2003. Finnish medalists in this age group include the European heptathlon champion Saga Vanninen800m European Championship silver medalist Veera Mattila as well as the pole vault gold winner on Sunday Juho Alasaari.
Vanninen has won four championships during his successful youth racing career. It is incredible that Vanninen can aim for another youth championship in Bergen, Norway, two years from now.
As an athlete, Vanninen is at such a level that he can even reach the top six in this summer’s World Championships for adults.
In two years, the situation may be completely different. When the World Championships are held in Tokyo in 2025, Vanninen might be a genuine medal candidate.
However, the under-23 European Championship of the same year is already of interest to the seventh-ranked player hungry for victory.
– If the games fall at a suitable point in terms of the schedule, I would definitely participate, Vanninen announces.
Why? What do you still have to achieve in those games?
– I feel that when you are at the age of youth competitions, they are the most important events. Of course, many of my own age can already manage at this point at the level of adults. I still consider youth competitions a big deal.
An important event
Veera Mattila would also like to compete in the under-23 European Championship held in two years. No matter what the situation was.
Mattila’s medal in these games was a big surprise.
– In these games I was the underdog, so it was perhaps easier to come to these games. Two years from now, there will definitely be more pressure. However, it’s great to be in such competitions, which have an international atmosphere.
The European Under-23 Championships have been held every other year since 1997. Sometimes the necessity of the Games is questioned.
However, the athletes are already young adults. Many of the athletes in the age group are successful at the World Cup and Olympic level. In recent years, Sweden has excelled as an example of that Armand Duplantis and Norway Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Mattila explains why the EC event in question is nevertheless necessary.
– Not everyone can really be at this age at the adult international level. If there was really a jump from under-20-year-old competitions directly to adults, the crowd could drop out. I feel that these motivate the youth. There is something to aim for.
“You can’t have too many value competitions”
Vanninen also considers the event important.
– There can never be too many value competitions, Vanninen states.
There are no competitions for that age group at the World Cup level. Should it be?
– I can not say. At the EC level, it is at least really important. At least that would motivate me.
The leader of the Finnish European Championship team Eeva Kantomäki considers the under-23 competitions as a natural transition path to the adult competitions.
– A 19-year-old is still quite young to jump to the top of the adults. There are also differences in athletics. Some sports are sports of early specialization and in others you can develop even in your thirties, Kantomäki says,