Friday night’s steeplechase final was like a perfect replica of the 2006 European Championship final, writes Atte Husu from the Olympic Stadium in Munich.
23:25•Updated 23:35
MUNICH. Gothenburg’s Ullevi, August 11, 2006. Men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase EC final.
2500 meters run. There is a front straight and one lap left. Jukka Keskisalo improves his positions. 400 meters left. Keskisalo continues to rise. 300 meters left. Now it smells strongly like a medal. In the penultimate dry obstacle, Keskisalo flies the Spaniard Jose Luis Blanco and French Bouabdallah Tahrin over and moves to the top. And won’t give up his place anymore.
Munich Olympic Stadium, August 19, 2022. The roar of the packed grandstand on the front straight reaches its peak with 500 meters remaining in the steeplechase final. Top Raitanen begins to improve its positions. The end is identical to the description of the beginning, with the difference that in the penultimate dry obstacle, the runner of Helsinki’s Kisa-Veikok eats Italians for dinner instead of Blanco and Tahr Ahmed Abdelwahedin and by Osama Zoghlam.
It is downright incomprehensible how the same formula can be in the two obstacle finals of the European Championships won by a Finn. The same can be said about the fact that a Finnish endurance runner wins gold every time they compete in Munich. In 1972, they did the trick at the Olympics Lasse Virén and Pekka Vasala – Virén twice – Janne Holmén 30 years later in the European Championships and Raitanen 20 years later.
The final solution of the Raitanen run and the Keskisalo run can be compared in the videos below. The story continues after the videos.
Munich is the home court
When it is taken into account that a Finnish endurance runner has achieved only one gold medal outside of Munich after the 1978 European Championships in Prague, after Raitanen’s gold, we can very well start talking about the home field of Finnish endurance running.
Or should we talk about the home field of Finnish athletics? As a result of Raitanen’s gold medal, the Finnish track and field athlete has now celebrated five gold medals in Munich, which equals the Finnish record of gold medals seen at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico after the world wars.
On the other hand, Finland’s record is that a Finnish track and field athlete has celebrated gold in all three games held there at the Olympic Stadium in Munich – four of the balance in Rome came from the 1974 European Championship and one from the 1987 World Cup.
The expected value was different
The biggest difference between Raitanen’s and Keskisalo’s gold medals can be found in the expected value. Everyone can also see it when comparing goal entries. In 2006, Keskisalo, after taking a moment’s breath, reached a wild roar, Raitanen, on the other hand, performed enthusiastically. No strong emotional reaction was seen.
Keskisalo’s championship 16 years ago was a surprise, after the Joensuu Kaleva Games, Raitase was talked about as the spearhead of the Munich EC team. Unlike Wilma Murron seiväskulta, Raitanen’s gold budgeted in the box was very possible – thanks especially to the very likely tactical run of the value competition finals, where the abilities of the sensitive Raitanen are at least known to the Finnish public.
The Munich organizers didn’t know, because Raitanen was totally ignored in the stadium presentation. The Finn’s name was not even mentioned. And what makes you smile a little, that’s what happened to Keskisalo 16 years ago.
Raitanen’s situation was completely different 8 minutes and 21.8 seconds after the start. From Keskisalo it took 3.09 longer.