Joensuu GP races on Wednesday on TV2 from 18:30.
The reigning European steeplechase champion Top Raitanen signed a new gear sponsorship deal with Puma earlier this year. Since the beginning of the season, Raitase has had spikes made just for him.
Puma listened to the champion runner’s wishes and made him a kind of quick version.
– These are shoes made for ton vitos. When this had too much plastic for the water barrier, Puma made the first version of the shoe. Hopefully the following models will have a slightly different base. We’ll see what the rest of the season brings.
– This is made just for us. They receive a lot of comments from athletes. The following different models of shoes have a different sole than this model. It is already good for steeplechase as standard.
The Norwegian horror of the 400-meter hurdles Karsten Warholm has, for example, received already made special shoes from Puma.
Is it a sign of a tough guy when you get your own shoes from an equipment manufacturer?
– It certainly matters. They want to serve the masters in a different way. We want to listen to the athletes and take products in the direction the athletes want.
A queasy feeling
Topi Raitanen’s running condition is one of the hottest questions in Finnish athletics at the moment. The European champion’s previous two races have been very tight in terms of results.
Three weeks ago, at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, he collapsed with a time of 8:43.46. A week and a half later, at the European team championships in Poland, the time was still slow, 8:39.93.
Raitanen, who will compete in the Joensuu GP races on Wednesday on his parade route, is not going into the race with a very good feeling.
– Pretty tight. I’m pretty realistic. When the body says something else, it hardly offers any surprises even in the race.
Raitanen started his season promisingly in May by running 1,500 meters with his record of 3:38.47. In the hurdles, the men’s best of the season is a good 8:22.00.
– It has gone better than that. Spring and summer have offered a place to learn that sports are brutal. Sometimes you have to look for limits and sometimes you can find them.
– When you start with records and the performance starts to decline, there must have been some kind of challenges along the way. We have to learn from it and move towards the next games, Raitanen says.
Short night sleeps and morning flights
There have been challenges in controlling the whole. There have been several trips abroad.
– Competitions are coming at a close pace. How to take it into account in the overall package. Short night sleeps and morning flights many times in a row, so recovery is not at its best. It must be the sum of many things going on Jannen (coach Ukonmaanaho) through.
Raitanen completed three steeplechase races in ten days from the start of the season. Due to the European Championships in Rome, which will be held in June next year, Raitanen’s winter training has been focused on ensuring that he is in top condition from the start of the season.
– It was a conscious risk, but it turned in the other direction. The body said that the run could not stand the acidity. Then running feels very heavy. It shows on the watch.
– It’s sad at that moment. However, you have to knock on the boundaries sometimes and learn from them. Tomorrow is another chance.
There’s still time for the World Cup
The World Championships in Budapest will be held at the end of August. Raitase still has enough credit that the curve will turn positive in about two months.
The first chance for that will come on Wednesday in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Joensuu GP Games.
– Tomorrow is another chance to turn the ship around. Fortunately, there is still time left in the season and time to catch up with the familiar rhythm.
The reigning European champion competed last time a week and a half ago in the EC team championships held in Poland. Raitanen hasn’t done any harder training since then.
– More oxidizing basic endurance and recovery through recovery. This race comes a little early, but we wanted to run here. However, there will not be very many domestic starts. Competitions are the best training, so let’s go to the competition with an open mind.
In the race in Joensuu, Raitase has good opponents. He would like to have his typical run, where the last ton goes at an accelerating pace.
– Get a matching tiger’s eye. The list is such that you can run for good times. You just have to stay in the group yourself to be able to fight for good positions. Compared to the original plan, expectations are more moderate.
There is no concrete time goal for Raitase for the race. However, he would be satisfied with under 8:30.
– We have to get as close as possible to the standard level that 8.20 knows.