Wilma Murto competed for the first time in the Hall period in Kuortane. The opening race brought a Finnish record, a win, and a more successful rod experiment than expected.
16:46•Updated 16:47
Pole vault European champion Wilma Murto jumped a new Finnish indoor track record in Kuortane. The 24-year-old from Turku opened the competition season with a win and a result of 475. The result is the top result in the world statistics for the beginning hall season.
Murto used new, longer 475-centimeter wings in the competition. The experiment worked better than expected.
– The starting point was that I have an open mind to those new walls. I thought it was entirely possible that we would return to 460 centimeter, but now it seems that there is no need to return the new ones to the factory, Murto elaborated in the Sports Federation’s press release.
Last summer, Murto, who jumped the Finnish record 485 in the EC final of outdoor tracks, has been able to train through the winter mostly healthy. Murro, who sparkled at the European Championships, has an intact training season behind him, except for one flu.
– The training has gone well, but now I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought I could go up to 460, but I couldn’t wait to exceed 475, Murto said.
The coach was also surprised by Finland’s record
Murro’s coach Jarno Koivunen was satisfied with his protégé’s opening competition for good reason. The result was a surprise for him too, because beforehand the focus was strongly on trying out new fins.
– The purpose was just to test the new fins. The race started to go very fast at a time and then it was noticed that the bar is already high. A pretty good pole experiment, Koivunen opened the course of the competition.
According to the coach, Murro only had one full-speed practice with 460-centimeter wings. With 475-centimeter bars, the value competition winner had never jumped before the Kuortane competition. According to Koivunen, changing fins usually doesn’t go that well.
Murto himself took a moderate approach to jumping.
– Such basic jumps. I paid most attention to running rhythm and speed. In the first races, the speed usually corrects the jaggedness of the technique, Murto stated.
He cleared the height of 475 in his first attempt. Murto finished the race in three attempts from a height of 480.
Seiväsä will continue his competition season at the end of January in France. Although the opening race was a success, Murto does not expect the moon from the sky in the next races.
– This race does not bode too badly for the competition season, but with these fins, not everything is clear. Applying for a credit instrument and limits continues. Hallikausi is still learning how to work with these fins, Murto explained the situation in the press release.