The Kaleva Games in Vaasa 27.–30.6. follows the events moment by moment in this article.
VAASA.
Running beautifully and with a relaxed rolling step Juho Venäläinen, 17, was clearly the strongest at the end of the track lap. He won the first men’s Finnish championship of his career in Vaasa.
The young champion ran smartly in the windy weather and pulled the back straight with ease, sparing bangs for the final stretch.
– We considered that there could be really strong winds in the back bend, so that we wouldn’t push and use up our strength, but save it for the end, says Venäläinen.
The victory was made easier by the fact that all of Finland’s top 400 meter men, Viljami Kaasalainen, Asseri Välimäki mixed Konsta Alatupawere missing from the line today.
The winning time of 47.24 is a new record for the Russian. There has already been an improvement of more than a second from last year. At the finish, the man seemed to be in good shape, and the lactic acids did not hit very hard.
– Yes, I always feel it a bit in the back thighs and buttocks.
Kultasormi Ylöstalo involved in coaching
Juho Venäläinen is from Imatra. His father is a former 800m runner Timo Venäläinenwho later in his career trained as a masseuse and went around camps helping national team runners.
As a child, Juho Venäläinen was versatile. He has been participating in competitions since he was a child and developed his speed. Satanen runs in 10.78 and 200 meters in 21.21.
He likes all ball sports, but for a long time his number one sport was floorball, which he stopped a year and a half ago.
– I’ve been through quite a few sports, and I always get those qualities, says Venäläinen.
– Even though the sports have changed, there has always been running. I have gone jogging a lot with my father. Now the focus has shifted more to athletics.
Father Timo, who coached his son, asked for coaching help from the golden finger of Finnish sprinting last fall. Mikael from Ylöstalo, who took over Juho’s coaching responsibility. Ylöstalo makes the training programs and Timo Venäläinen supervises them in Ruokolahti and Imatra.
– Mikke is damn good at that job. He is very analytical, says Timo Venäläinen.
– Yes, we have been to the capital region a few times for training, says Juho Venäläinen.
“It’s never nice to run”
The Russian feels that 400 meters is definitely his distance.
– My characteristics match it well. I have a long and wide stride. However, there is a certain amount of speed and the step fits the “knee” model quite perfectly.
The track tour is a rough journey, where the runner has to endure hardships. The Russian says that he always wants to get to the finish line as quickly as possible and gives his all.
– It’s never fun to run. The most exciting part is how the end will be and how it feels.
The Russian turns 18 in the fall, so the junior series in Finland is for under 20-year-olds. The Finnish record for the series is 46.72 Jaakko Kemolan in the name and it is already 48 years old.
– There is still next year to apply for it.
With his winning time of 47.24, the Russian is tied for 14th place in the under-20 European statistics, but is still a year too young for that series.
Videos by Norman and Lyles
The Venäläinen family had two finalists today, because Juho Venäläinen’s sister The only Russian ran seventh in the women’s 400m final.
– At Kimpa, we are always trained.
Juho Venäläinen seems very mature for his age and does not build cloud castles.
– Feet stay on the ground. There’s no room to float here, he laughs.
In the style of today’s youth, he also watches a lot of videos of world stars. His favorites are four hundred Michael Norman and at two hundred meters Noah Lyles.
– Quite a lot of videos of all the sprinters have been watched. Satase and kakko have gained a lot of new insights from just the videos.
In August, there would be a youth WC, are you interested?
– Of course I’m interested. You just have to get that limit. It’s always interesting to go, says the Venäläinen, who thinks that maybe he will run in Lappeenranta next.
After the interview, the young champion is taken to the first doping test of his life.
The Kaleva Games in Vaasa 27.–30.6. follows the events moment by moment in this article.