Triple Jumper Aaro Davidilan23, a wild record improvement in the GP competition in Lappeenranta directly elevated him to Finland’s all-time statistical champion.
Davidila improved the record she jumped in Helsinki at the end of May by no less than 42 cents. At the same time, the result of 16.83 in the last round of the competition took Davidila directly to sixth place in the European statistics.
– Yes, yesterday’s result improvement was definitely a step in the right direction and it has been expected quite a lot here after the difficult seasons, Davidila says.
It also ended with Davidila’s record jump Simo Lipsanen era, because after the 2016 Kaleva Games, no Finnish athlete had won from Lipsa in the triple jump.
Athletics has been the number one sport for Davidila from Rovaniemi since she was a child, and jumping has always been in her plans. Until he was 15, he also played football.
The reach and long limbs of Davidila, who represents Lapland’s Lukko, create an almost perfect starting point for the triple jump. The long and comprehensive performance of the sport fascinates the athlete.
– Practically three performances during one jump, so there are a lot of things to get right and a lot of things to get wrong, Davidila describes.
Davidila is a rarer surname among Finns, and more specifically, her family originates from Tervolan Louee, located along the Kemijoki River. According to the surname statistics of the Digital and Population Information Agency, 72 people in Finland have the current surname Davidila.
A fair improvement could have already come last season
In Lappeenranta, the top result came on the last jump of the competition. Finnish Sports Federation’s triple jump event representative Tuomas Sallinen describes Davidila as an iron-clad Lapland and a man of the last jump, with whom charging and successes are often at the end of the competition.
Davidila’s personal trainer Mikael Inkeroinen sign Sallinen’s description.
– As a coach, you would hope that there would be as many good results as possible throughout the competition and that jumping would be standard, Inkeroinen laughs.
– This is definitely an athlete who is able to make the most of everything in a tough situation and with the last jump.
Davidila’s development has taken place quickly after challenging seasons, and as the competition results stabilize, Inkeroinen believes that the level of results will also stabilize so that similar top jumps would also be seen in the first rounds of the competitions.
According to Sallinen, a similar result could have come already a year ago, but an ankle and hamstring injury interrupted Davidila’s racing season at that time.
– A year ago in May, he looked really good and he jumped 16 meters in the previous hall season. In itself, there could have been a fair improvement already a year ago, but it only moved forward by one year, says Sallinen, who has followed Davidila’s development since 2017.
Due to the brutality of the sport, there is a lot of variation in results even among top jumpers. In the end, the upcoming competitions will show where Davidila’s level will be.
– It also reflects Aaro, that in a way he doesn’t dream about anything, but he prefers to work and then see. The results will come along with it, says Inkeroinen.
Davidila knew she was in record shape in Lappeenranta. The athlete’s gaze was on the better side of 16.50. However, the sportsmen and the athlete himself were surprised by the fact that the record is set at 16.83.
At the same time, Davidila broke the limit of 16.80 for next summer’s European Championships in Rome. 17 meters can be considered the next ghost line.
– Of course it’s the next step in that sense, when you can see it twenty centimeters away, Davidila admits.
“It feels like you’re never in a bad mood”
Her studies brought Davidila to Helsinki last fall, and she is studying for a master’s degree in information technology at Aalto University.
– In addition, the girlfriend had already moved to Helsinki before, so it was an easy decision in itself, Davidila says.
At the same time, the athlete’s training patterns also changed. Inkeroinen was impressed by Davidila’s quickness and initiative, and he took over the athlete’s coaching responsibility at the beginning of the year.
– He is such a young man that I feel like he is never in a bad mood. Cheerful, open and knows how to analyze his own work very well. Really good conditions to make a good sports career. Nice to cooperate with such an athlete.
The change of coach happened gradually during the winter, and since the age of 11, Davidila has been coached Markku Halonen will receive many thanks from Inkeroinen.
– It has been easy to build our training on the basis. Rovaniemi deserves a big thank you, Inkeroinen emphasizes.
The goal is the Finnish championship
Davidila’s eyes are on the Kaleva Games in Lahti next week, where the goal is the championship.
The World Athletics Championships medals will be distributed in Budapest from August 19, and at the same time Davidila still has a chance for a place in the competition. It would require a repeat of Lappeenranta’s record jump at the Kaleva Games.
– From there we go to get a medal and a championship. In the Kaleva Games, I jump what I jump and after that we’ll see what the ranking situation looks like, says Davidila.
Sallinen and Inkeroinen are not very enthusiastic about the current ranking system. It poses special challenges for both Davidila and Simo Lipsase, who returned to the racing fields in Lappeenranta.
Below you have to have at least five competitions a year, which is a lot in triple jump compared to many other sports. The World Cup place is known for the world’s 36 best athletes, and the ranking closes on July 30.
– The sad part about both Simon and Aaron is that this current ranking system discriminates quite strongly against young, up-and-coming athletes and athletes suffering from injuries, Sallinen says.
– Simo doesn’t have any games under his belt, so there is no other chance to get to the games than to jump the result 17.20, which was not terribly far off with that overstepped jump in Lappeenranta. When you jump, you are the medal favorite in the games, Sallinen describes with amusement.
Inkeroinen does not consider the competition venue an impossibility and work will be done as long as there is time.
– However, it’s not worth using energy to think about it, let others count the points, says Inkeroinen.
The Finnish athletics championships will be contested at the Kaleva Games in Lahti from 27 to 30. July. shows Kaleva’s competitions on its channels.