The shooting athletes know that they have a tight competition schedule, when both the World Championship and the European Championships start within a month. The events are significant, as most of the country spots for next summer’s Olympics are up for grabs.
Riku Porvari,
Nina Old house
Finnish shotgun shooters have an important month ahead of them. At the World Championships in Baku starting on Thursday, August 17, and the European Championships at the end of September, most of the remaining country spots will be allocated to next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The Finnish skeet men, who set the world record in June, go to the games with strong confidence.
Placed fourth in the previous Olympic Games in Tokyo Eetu Kallioinen has still been number one. This season, he has already been on the podium three times in international competitions.
Last season, getting used to the new weapon and running after the Olympics still affected the results.
– Yes, they brought a lot of all the events, they were asked to coach and do this and that. Strangely, it took time to get used to everything. In the end, there was a bit of fatigue and overload – maybe that’s the reason why last season didn’t go so well, says Kallioinen.
Under the leadership of the head coach, the technique is in order
With Kallioinen, they set a team world record Tommi Takanen and Timi Vallioniemi have also raised their level this season. Mutual competition and a coach playing an important role have helped in that Pietro Genga.
According to Takanen, in the past, shooters were advised to keep their heads together during the games, but they were not given any means to do so. Genga brought with him training routines that build self-confidence through technology.
– Pietro came and told me first that here are the training amounts, how much you need to train if you want to be on top of the world. In training, the focus is always on the technique – and that the technique is perfect. Through that, we seek confidence in doing things, says Takanen.
Takanen also reveals that Genga’s arrival in Finland is partly due to him. A few years ago, the Shooting Sports Association was looking for a new skeet head coach, but there were hardly any applications that could be considered.
– I know those international coaches and I asked if I could send them a message. Pietro replied that he would be happy to consider the matter. I assisted Pietro in applying, when it was a bit difficult for a foreign applicant. Fortunately, it so happened that Pietro became a coach.
Vallioniemi also says that his shooting technique has improved in recent years. Many difficult technical areas have been refined this season as well, he says.
– There have been good results in the World Cups, and the personal finals place has been close many times – several times at the end of the puck. My level is pretty close to the top of the world, but I still have to take Napsu forward to get the top rankings out of myself, Vallioniemi describes.
According to head coach Genga, the team is focused on not making mistakes at any point.
– For three years, we have worked a lot in terms of the number of shots, but now we are focusing on the quality. Of course, we have to enjoy ourselves, but at the same time we have to work a lot on polishing small details for the games. Everyone knows that the only way to win is to not make mistakes.
Genga says that he repeats the same mantra to the shooters, which goes something like this: “On the shooting range, no one’s discs are already broken.”
– In the games, you have to be able to show that you have done so much work in training that you can repeat the same performances. If you do what you already know in the games, you can get on the podium.
The Finnish team’s strongest chances for the Paris Olympics are still in men’s skeet and women’s trap, but in addition Marjut Heinonen can surprise and grab an Olympic spot in women’s skeet.
In the World Championships, each series has four Olympic places, while in the European Championships only one.