Oliver Helander is one of Finland’s few medal hopefuls at the Paris Olympics. However, a long-term back problem makes it difficult to prepare for the main event of the season.
Winner of European Javelin bronze in June Oliver Helander suffers from back problems. On Saturday, Helander’s general practice at the Joensuu GP went under the bench, when he was left with a result of 76.38.
Helander’s coach, a seven-time medalist in the championship Tero Pitkämäki according to him, the poor result is explained by back pain that disturbed him during the competition.
– Yesterday, Oliver didn’t dare to bump into the support leg at all. It shows in the result in a harsh way. Anyone who has even thrown a javelin knows that if your back is bad, it’s really hard to get a result, Pitkämäki tells Urheilu by phone on Sunday.
According to Pitkämäki, back pain has caused Helander challenges throughout the season. Helander’s best throw of the summer is 85.75 seen in the EC final in Rome, but since then the result curve has pointed downward.
Pitkämäki says that the condition of Helander’s back can vary significantly within a week.
– My back has been hurting from time to time since December. It’s nothing surprising now. In javelin throwing, there are problems with which sometimes you can make a result and sometimes you can’t.
Are we talking about trouble?
– It is disability-based. I won’t take a position on it anyway.
No miracles to be done
According to Pitkämäki, Helander’s back has been treated with physiotherapy several times during the summer. There are no other means in preparation for the Paris Olympics.
– The problem is that it will not be fixed during the summer.
– Now you just have to dare if the situation is similar (as in Joensuu). The condition of the back varies quite a lot. There was also a training period before Joensuu, which put a strain on the back, but you still had to train.
According to Pitkämäki, there are signs of improvement in Helander’s other fitness factors.
– Physical performance was a bit low after the European Championships in Rome, but it has been turned in a more normal direction. In that respect, things are fine.
“Hope is not lost yet”
Pitkämäki does not want to assess whether Helander’s back will be in a throwing condition where medal results would be possible. In the previous five-ring games in Tokyo, a result of 85.44 was required for a medal, and in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, 85.38.
– It’s a bit of a seesaw in relation to Paris, which way the back situation goes.
– In Paris, the situation is mentally easier in the sense that at the Olympics you have to dare more, even if it hurts a little, Pitkämäki says.
Athletics starts at the Olympics on August 1. The men’s javelin qualifying will be thrown on Tuesday morning, August 6. The final is on Thursday evening, August 8. When there are only two and a half weeks until the h moment of the season, Pitkämäki describes the situation as challenging.
– Now we try to live and fight with it. Hope is not lost yet.