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Two convincing performances by Pitkämäki - Finnish Championships Report
Competition record 88.67 in qualification round The 24-year-old, easily the brightest star of Finnish Athletics at the moment, was naturally the focus of the champs. Before the competition started, Pitkämäki even did his final training in public. Several hundreds of people were watching the training and on Sunday evening the stadium was absolutely packed to see the Seinäjoki-based athlete steal the show once again. But it was not all easy for Tero this time. For the first time in the Finnish Championships, a new rule was used for field events and only eight best from the qualifications advanced to final. In Finland a qualification standard of 71 metres (which would be enough for a medal in most of the countries in the world) is required to attend the champs and sixteen athletes were competing in the qualification round. Pitkämäki was throwing in the first group and decided to take it easy. And that did not work at all, his first throw just slipped out of his hand and landed at 72.04m. In the second throw the javelin’s tail scratched the track in the throwing process and managed to fly only 75.00m, which was enough for equal fifth place in the first group and surely not enough for the final. For the last throw the number one thrower in the world decided to use full speed and power and the outcome was equal to that. His 88.67m third throw was the best ever qualification mark by a Finn and third best ever, only Jan Zelezny (CZE) has twice thrown further, in Sydney Olympics and Edmonton World Championships qualifications. Tero throws even further in final In the final Pitkämäki opened with a good 85.04m. In the second round Tero Järvenpää threw further but it was a narrow foul landing at about 85.5m. Järvenpää finally got a good throw in round five with 81.01m, which was enough for second place and a spot in the Osaka team to accompany Pitkämäki and Teemu Wirkkala, who was third today with a 80.86m result. Pitkämäki used the nice slight following wind in round two winning with another big throw and competition record of 89.43m, bettering his one day old CR from the qualifications. The winner then fouled two throws and decided to pass the two remaining ones because of the extra energy used in Saturday’s qualification to avoid any possible injuries. First Finnish title for Kruger Sunday witnessed another good throwing performance in the men’s discus throw. The following wind certainly did not help the throwers, but still the new Finn, Frantz Kruger, grabbed his first Finnish title in style producing a couple of big throws with his best 66.37m coming in round five. A 64-metre man this year, Mikko Kyyrö, only managed 59.93m for second place which puts Kruger’s winning result into perspective. Kruger is still hoping to get the permission to compete for Finland in Osaka. While interviewed on Finnish radio, fully in Finnish, Kruger said that he was really content to get two 65m+ throws in difficult windy conditions. He added that he’s very eager to represent Finland in Osaka and hopes for a positive verdict for his participation there. Robert Häggblom took his first national outdoor title on Friday with a winning toss of 20.07m, exactly the same distance he achieved in February while winning the national indoor champs, and made sure he is the best shot putter in Finland at the moment. But on Sunday there was bad news for him as he had sprained his ankle in training while still staying in Lappeenranta and his Osaka trip is now doubtful. Read more Two convincing performances by Pitkämäki - Finnish Championships Report from iaaf.org Results
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