Former World Youth champion improves to 20.53m 12. July 07

With the 5th IAAF World Youth Championships currently being worked out in Ostrava this week, what could be more appropriate timing than for one of the inaugural champions from 1999, Finland’s Robert Häggblom, to now mature into world class shape in the men’s Shot Put.

Häggblom, 24, who took the European Junior silver in 2001, has made gradual, in fact an exceptionally smooth transition into the senior ranks since his World Youth title in Bydgoszcz. Last winter in his first major senior championships he finished in fourth place at the European Indoors in Birmingham with a personal best of 20.26m, just 29cm away from bronze.

That continental final was one of four competitions over 20m indoors in 2007, and since the start of his outdoor campaign he had managed another three before today’s national meeting in Lapua, Finland (11) where incoming with a PB of 20.29, he exited with a new career best of 20.53m.

The distance took the victory over another Finnish youngster Mika Vasara, the 2002 World Junior bronze medallist, who made 19.63m. Yet most importantly Häggblom’s release was an ‘A’ qualification mark for the 11th IAAF World Championships, Osaka, Japan (25 Aug to 2 Sep).

Häggblom has already had some promising outings on the IAAF World Athletics Tour this summer with a third pace in Doha, and sixth place finishes in both Hengelo and Ostrava.

It is likely that Vasara, 23, the 2005 European U23 bronze medallist, will also be on the plane to Japan as he has been well over the ‘B’ standard this season with his PB of 20.21m.

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