1.32 seconds.
That’s enough to separate Joonas Rinne Pekka Vasalan from the Finnish record of 3:36.33 for running 1,500 meters in the 1972 Munich Olympic final. It is the second oldest Finnish adult track and field record.
Even SE, which was considered eternal, has already reached 50 years of age. On September 10, it could turn years old again. Urheilu Jaakko Ojaniemi however, dare to disagree.
– I would bet that a new Finnish record will be seen during this season.
Rinne ran a good Finnish time of 3:37.65 at the GP night in Joensuu. With that, he improved 15 hundredths of his record he ran in Kuortane a few weeks ago. At that time, the race was run in ideal conditions.
On Wednesday, there was a strong headwind in Joensuu Etusuora. It could also have affected Rinnee’s stiffening at the end of the straight, although he was still able to squeeze into the record time.
Seven years younger than Rinnetta, born in 2002 Santtu Heikkinen raved Australia by Adam Spencer also his record in the winning race (3:38,17). He also ran his then record of 3:38.59 less than three weeks ago.
– They ran surprisingly well in that weather. Both played pretty well, so they didn’t get caught in the wind. It had a good hare, (Ville Lampinen) that pulled and eased. On the back straight, they were able to roll in good support, but the conditions were not optimal, says Ojaniemi.
Lampinen was in real action after a long break.
– Great to see Ville on the track. We started off pretty fast. I thought that the pace is not the most steady in the legs. However, I am satisfied that I endured the initial pace and had a strong finish despite that, Rinne stated.
Heikkinen in the hunt for medals
The main crowd was fast at the beginning. The first 400 meters was 56.06. The flow slowly began to clot.
– The beginning went really hard. The pace leveled off a bit, but the end went faster. The intermediate round must be tougher if you want to reach the Finnish record, Heikkinen told Urheilu in an interview.
Ojaniemi says SE is only dependent on more even speed distribution.
– The beginning was a bit tough. Not much, but still a little. In the third lap with a ton of speed, the speed can often drop a little. The third round weakened the chances a little.
– Even a little warmer and calmer. I don’t think it really needs anything else. I believe that in that same condition we will be able to set a Finnish record. You don’t need to drastically improve your fitness.
The 21-year-old Heikkinen’s development leap since last summer has been big. After last summer, the record was still set at 3:41.65. Now it’s 3.5 seconds nicer.
The main competitions of Heikkinen’s season will come next week in Espoo, where the European Championships for under-23s will be held. The Finnish teenager will go to the Games as a statistic.
British runner Matthew Stonier clearly stands out from the pack with his record of 3:32.50. However, in value races, Tonnivitone’s runs are mainly tactical.
So a lot has been covered for Heikki as well.
– At least he is fighting for a medal. It may be that he will be able to grab the medal with the sprint, Ojaniemi estimates.
Disagree about the SE violator
Rinne has taken a longer distance from Heikki in the races this summer. It has been thought that Rinne will be the first to run the Finnish record.
– Of course I do, Rinne acknowledged.
However, Heikkinen disagrees.
– Yes, I think I will run it.
Ojaniemi gives Heikkinen a seam already this summer.
– It’s not impossible. I think Joona is more likely, but you never know if Santulla gets the right conditions and his fitness goes even higher.
However, Ojaniemi reminds us that there are hardly many hare races left this summer.
– It’s more difficult in value competitions, Ojaniemi sums up.