Athletics Istanbul EC Indoor Championships 2.3.–5.3. Ylen channels. See the program and broadcast information at this link.
European championship and top jump 485. Wilma Murron the performance in last summer’s EC final was a huge shock to almost all Finnish sports followers.
Many had already given up on the young ME woman. The sport’s most recent Olympic bronze medalist Holly Bradshaw was, however, one of the few who was not surprised by the appeal of a colleague seven years younger.
– I’ve known all along that Wilma is good enough to cross five meters and win an Olympic medal, Bradshaw tells Urheilu.
Bradshaw’s words have a very special kind of weight. The 31-year-old Briton has been one of the most reliable race performers for years.
Since 2012, he has reached at least the top eight at the World Cup or Olympic level six times. Only the 2013 World Championships in Moscow and the World Cup final in Oregon, which was missed last year due to a broken shin, are the only races that have passed.
He has a full color straight from the EC halls. Bradshaw, whose record is recorded at 490, has surpassed 480 or more ten times.
Bradshaw and Murto, who met each other in the same competitions, have been good friends for many years. Murro’s story is very familiar to experienced pole vaulters.
Murto was a promising junior star who jumped the youth world record 471 at the age of 17. In the same year, he won bronze at the World Youth Championships and competed in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
However, the following years were challenging. There were injuries. There were changes related to coaching. The top talent sought his own direction as a top athlete.
– It was really hard for him for a while, Bradshaw knows.
Unweighted
Bradshaw was also talented at the youth level. He won the World Youth Championship bronze and the under-23 European Championship. However, the path from a promising junior to a high-quality adult athlete was not an easy process for him either.
Bradshaw has wanted to act as a kind of mentor and safety net for Murro. He believes that the media and other external pressure influenced the adult Murto.
– He is a big name in Finland. I think he had a lot of pressure on his shoulders, Bradshaw sees.
Murto returned in autumn 2019 Jarno Koivunen i learned Help has come to the mental side Hannaleena Ronkainen.
Over the past couple of seasons, the record has improved by 14 cents and the base level has risen.
In addition to the European championship, he has been fifth in the Olympics and sixth in the World Championships.
– During the last few seasons, he has gotten rid of it (the ballast). He has been able to focus on his own thing and enjoy the sport. Because of that, he has been able to jump well.
– I have spoken with him. He has known that he is good enough for such heights. He knows what he’s capable of now, Bradshaw points to the 485 jump.
Bradshaw and Murto have talked a lot about the expectations and pressures of the sport.
– We have talked about the need to be as confident and positive as possible. There are a few things you can influence. You have to erase from your mind that you are injured or can’t do this or that.
One of Murro’s greatest strengths is speed running. However, due to injuries, he had periods when jumping exercises were not enough, but now he has received a lot of repetitions in training and competitions.
It can be seen not only in the performance itself but also in the mental side. In Bradshaw’s opinion, in addition to athletic changes, the focus has been on life outside of sports.
Murto started journalism studies at Turku University of Applied Sciences a year and a half ago.
– The fact that there was only pole vaulting in his life and the associated pressures did him no good. With his studies, he can focus on something else. The worst thing an athlete can have is to focus only on the sport.
Olympic medalist level
Murto went to this week’s European Championships in Istanbul as second in statistics and in Slovenia Tin Sutej’n as a challenger. He surpassed his indoor record of 475 in his season opener in Kuortane.
The performance was amazed in Finland, but an athlete aiming for World Cup and Olympic medals should jump at those results. Bradshaw says pole vaulting is all about confidence.
He reminds that, for example, at the Olympic level, medals are taken today with 480–490 jumps. It requires a hard basic level.
In his Olympic bronze medal season, Bradshaw jumped 482 or more in four events.
– I believe in jumping 470-490 in every race, says Bradshaw.
There are also jumpers whose performance level fluctuates a lot during the season.
– First jump 440, then 470, 430, 460, 440, 470. That’s not the way to win an Olympic medal, says Bradshaw.
– In every race you have to go 470.
Bradshaw says Murto has been able to raise his base level over the last couple of seasons. Last summer, the average of the top five Finnish results was 465.
– Wilma can be successful in the next 5–10 years. He just needs to get his level raised.
– During the following seasons, he can jump 470-480 in every competition. The lowest height might be 460. I think that’s the level at which you make yourself a medal contender. I see no reason why Wilma can’t jump 470-480 every race.
Five meters cannot be exceeded by asking
Bradshaw already told Urheilu four years ago that Murro has the potential to reach five meters. The pole vaulter still believes in it, but calls for patience from the followers of athletics.
– The best way to cross five meters is not to constantly ask about it. If people keep speculating whether Wilma will jump five meters, she never will. You have to give him time.
Bradshaw talks about the attitude with which Murron should approach this year’s Games.
– In every race the result is 470 or more and in some races this year 480. Maybe I will also set my record. This is what he needs to focus on this year.
Bradshaw reminds that only four women have exceeded five meters. Russian Yelena Isinbayeva and Anzhelika Sidorova and the USA Sandy Morris have been able to do it on outdoor tracks. American Jenn Suhr has been able to do it in the hall.
– She (Wilma) knows that she can jump five meters. However, he does not want to talk about five meters. When the time is right, it will happen.
Wilma Murto competes in the women’s pole vault qualification of the EC Indoor Championships on Friday morning at 8:15. The final is scheduled for Saturday at 18:05.