Oliver Helander’s season started poorly in the Doha Diamond League competition, but he threw the best series of his career in the Paavo Nurme Games. In Oulu, javelin throwers want technically clean throws.
The domestic GP series of athletics continues on Saturday in Oulu. The live broadcast at Areena starts at 14:35. On TV2, the broadcast starts at 16:30.
Oliver Helander has pitched in four contests this summer. The opening race in Doha was a big disappointment, but in the middle of June, at the Paavo Nurmi Games, he threw the best series of his career as a whole. The 26-year-old thrower gained confidence from the Turku competition.
– It was the first competition where all the throws carried more than 80 meters. It gives me confidence to qualify for the World Championships, that I’m not only dependent on one throw, 87.32 Helander, who threw in Turku, opens up to Urheilu.
He finds one aspect of his throwing technique that he now especially wants to improve. Helander is not completely satisfied with the operation of his support leg.
– Support should work better. It’s been a little loose. If it holds up really well, the result will be even better, Helander reveals.
According to him, the focus in Saturday’s race will be on the durability of the support. He himself doesn’t really know why it’s so hard to fix. In addition, Helander is trying to throw the Paris Olympic limit of 85.50.
The Olympic limit could have been made on 1.7. from, so Helander’s result in Paavo Nurmi’s games is not taken into account.
As a small carrot with a spear, it is to break Raati on the field Seppo Rädyn field record 86.92, which is from the 1990 Kaleva Games.
– I hope Rädy won’t hold the field record anymore after Saturday. However, the main goal is to throw technically better throws than in Lausanne, Helander smiles.
In the Lausanne Diamond League at the end of June, Helander’s best throw was 83.50.
From the beginning of the season, the results have varied
At the season opener in Doha, Helander was left without a result. In the next competition in Hengelo, the result was 80.50, which was followed by Paavo Nurme’s top success in the games. In the competition, the weakest of Helander’s five measured throws was 82.43.
– The throws went forward. In previous races, they have gone diagonally to the left. It was a big improvement to this race, Helander analyzed his performance after Paavo Nurme’s races.
In June, Helander opened up about his technical mistake at a remote information conference organized by Oulu Pyrinnö.
– The support is still such that it pumps at the end, it doesn’t hold properly. That’s why the hand starts from below, from the side, Helander said at the time.
In the Oulu GP race, Helander’s toughest opponents are Lithuania Edis Matusevicius and Japan Yuta Sakiyama. The Lithuanian has thrown 84.22 this season, while Sakiyama has thrown 83.54. Top domestic names are included Toni Keränenwhich does not yet have a result from this season.
The domestic GP series of athletics continues on Saturday in Oulu. The live broadcast at Areena starts at 14:35. On TV2, the broadcast starts at 16:30. Events are also monitored moment by moment on ‘s website.