Hammer thrower Aaron Kangas realized that after failing last season, not everyone can easily move forward with their own weight.
The Kankaanpää Sports Center seems to have almost everything an athlete could hope for. There is a refurbished indoor swimming pool, a sports hall in the middle of the renovation, a cross-country ski run, baseball courts, a football pitch, an athletics stadium and, to top it all off, a separate long-throw sand court. The place is peaceful, so the top of the world of hammer throwing was hurried the other summer Aaron Kangas allowed to do their exercises entirely at their own pace.
– It’s finally windy today. Although the wind does not affect the solid instrument so much, the shooter does feel a strong headwind, says Aaron Kangas’ father and coach Jarmo Kangas.
– The training season is steadily over. One short camp was missed due to illness, but there have been no major worries. When there is a little more heat, the emissions start to lengthen, says Aaron himself.
Expectations for the Tokyo Olympics were big in the Canvas family. The 2020 season was a real breakthrough for Aaron. At that time, the sledgehammer flew to his own personal record of 79.05 and the average of the races was a fine 76.54 meters.
An important Olympic summer was almost the opposite. The best throw came already at the start of the season (76.85) and it promised much more. Still, in almost every race, the hammer arches were only 73 meters to the right at best.
– It was just frustration. It was annoying to train when the sledgehammer didn’t fly anywhere. It also didn’t make sense to go to the races, but was forced. Had to try, Kangas sums up.
Kangas searched for the necessary meters to get to Tokyo through the Olympic rankings and the pace was tight.
– The season got off to a bad start and it was difficult to get up. Even if we only talk about a month, it is a short time for an athlete to raise the level. The result was supposed to get out quickly and it didn’t come off.
There was also bad luck involved. The condition was still good at the opening of the season in May, but after that there was a facet lock on the chest and also some kind of infection. They were little stuff, but when it got completely off track, the impact was big.
– Last summer I learned that this is not such that everything goes easily, as it did during a good season, but you have to train hard and invest to the fullest.
Changes small – effects large
In the summer of 2020, Korona was still a relatively new thing in Finland. No one during the athletics season knew for sure what competitions would be held and where athletes could go. It was a fit for Aaron Kangas.
– The 2020 Games were question marks because of the corona and they went to training. That’s when it went. Expectations came last summer. There will no longer be a single series to pick up for the upcoming season. It fits me not to think about value race limits or rankings at all. I go to the race in terms of training so as not to invest or sensitize, Kangas lines.
Through the failure, the father and son were not left too much to spin or open.
– After all, it didn’t go through terribly. We started a new season and started training.
As with most athletics, the hammer throw should be able to be performed casually but to the fullest. Effects must be found, but not squeezed. In the autumn, Kangas took a strength coach to the training season, Janne Kanervan.
– In the end, the changes were small, but more species power was developed. It is at a better level than last year.
Moukar’s super summer
Today, Kangas lives in Tampere, which has become a clear center for Finnish hammer throwing. Rink species are mainly concentrated in one place and there is also a monthly national team camp. That was also the reason for Kanka to move from Kankaanpää to the Tampere region.
– You can work out together there during the winter, because in the hall it is otherwise long drilling alone. At the same time, you get a small competitive environment and get something for yourself from doing others.
The hammer throw looks really good in Finnish at the moment. Sara Killinen already had time to throw his own record behind the creek when the arc flew more than 69 meters.
The struggle for the position of Finland’s number one woman is probably fierce. Krista Tervo threw a new Finnish record of 74.40 in Portugal in March. Holding a world record for young people Silja Kosonen shook the hammer to 73.43 last year.
There may easily be as many as five or six women over 68 meters in Finland next summer. There are two championships ahead, the World Championships in Eugene and the European Championships in Munich. In hammer throwing, the level is equally hard in both.
– The success of women is definitely to the benefit of us all. In a couple of years, the hammer has risen clearly and the hammer community has also strengthened. When it comes to hard throws, people are more interested.
The goal for Kangas is definitely in both championships, although there is no talk of meter numbers yet. Kangas threw his own season opener in a familiar place in Kankaanpää on Sunday. The hammer curved to readings of 72.04. That was enough for a tough competition instead of a fourth. He won Aleksi Jaakkolaafter throwing 72.90.