The reigning European under-18 champion was cut in January.
The year 2022 was a celebration of Finnish athletics at both the adult and youth European Championships.
In the last games, a familiar domestic javelin name was in the headlines. Only 15 years old Top Parviainen threw gold in the under-18 European Championships held in Jerusalem. Topi Parviainen’s father and coach has thrown 80.82 in the 1990s Mika Parviainen. He, on the other hand, is the world champion Aki Parviainen brother.
Topi Parviainen’s throw of 84.52 with a 700-gram javelin in the EC final is both the junior Finnish record and the EC competition record.
The results raised expectations for the summer of 2023, but Parviainen missed it completely in terms of competitions. For some reason, there was no interview in the summer, but now Parviainen opens up about his hidden problem.
– At the end of 2022, the thrower’s shoulder hurt so badly that it had to be examined. It turned out that the labrum was torn, says Parviainen.
The labrum is the supporting ring of the shoulder joint, located on the side of the shoulder blade. When the support ring tears, the joint loosens and synovial fluid can penetrate between the bone and the support ring. That, in turn, can cause a cyst that presses on the nerve at the top of the scapula. This was the case in Parviainen’s case.
– The cyst was already close to the nerve and significant enough that it had to be operated on.
Top orthopedist for packages
16-year-old Parviainen’s shoulder was operated on January 17, 2023. The operation was performed by an Orthopedist respected by javelin throwers. Urho Väätäinenwhose services have been used, among other things Antti Ruuskanen and Magnus Kirt.
Parviainen was also lucky in the accident, as the torn labrum had not caused tendon damage.
Leikkaus knew, however, that Parviainen was banned for six months from throwing at full speed.
– It’s quite difficult when you know that the chances would have been high this year.
– It’s better to handle this kind of surgery properly when you’re young, so you don’t have a broken career. Dad also threw his record after his first shoulder surgery.
Next year the World Cup
The surgery removed the shoulder pain that had been bothering Parviai for a long time. Now the 17-year-old thrower has his sights set on next year’s under-20 World Championships. The competitions will be held at the end of August in Peru.
Next summer will also be the first when Parviainen will throw an adult weight (800 grams) javelin. He does not want to set performance goals.
– Of course, it depends on how I can throw properly. I’m in good shape, and I’m definitely improving a lot. So how does the throw stay in the pile when there aren’t many throws in the pile?
“Gender Bond”
Topi Parviainen’s coach father Mika Parviainen emphasizes that the media silence about the surgery was a conscious choice on both sides.
– We kept quiet on purpose, because it’s about a young man. The year 2022 showed that there is little of this gender burden, Mika Parviainen refers to the media attention caused by the youth EC gold and SE result.
– The situation is good now. Topi could have already cast from the end of summer, but we thought that it doesn’t matter if someone casts a single result with 700 or 800 gram equipment. Now just look ahead.