1. Tommi Evilä 808 SB 2. Roni Ollikainen 804 PB 3. Mikko Kivinen 789 =PB
Evilä won with his last jump, just missing the B standard... Kivinen was robbed when one of his jumps was mismeasured (almost certainly would have been PB). That got the loudest crowd reaction of the day... everybody was shouting, whistling and swearing at the officials. (There was a previous mark that hadn't been smoothed properly and they measured from that!!)
I have never worked a meet in Europe and can seldom figure out the allocation of officials from limited TV clips. This is a national championship, did they not have a designated Pit Judge whose duty it is to observe the landing and ensure the pit does not have any possible confusing marks in the landing area?
1. Ari Mannio 85.12 SB 2. Tero Järvenpää 80.10 SB 3. Antti Ruuskanen 79.51 4. Jarkko Koski-Vähälä 78.38
...phew. At least now there's no way they'll fail to select Mannio, which is good since he's the only somewhat consistent thrower we have. Also, it seems he's rounding into good shape at approximately the right time The other 2 spots will probably be decided at Lappeenranta next week (Pitkämäki might grab one spot just with his name, as long as he can be bothered to turn up...) Conditions: 22°C, very slight headwind.
m5000:
1. Jukka Keskisalo 14:07.54
Somewhat surprisingly, he turned up for the 5k. Better than I feared but not where he used to be...
mHJ:
1. Jussi Viita 220 2. Osku Torro 220
Torro just can't match his indoor shape...
mDec:
1. Sami Itani 7731
wHT:
1. Merja Korpela 67.10
w200:
1. Anna Hämäläinen 23.76 PB (+0.0)
m200:
1. Santeri Tukia 21.61 (-0.2)
Åstrand DNS with some minor injury...
wPV:
1. Minna Nikkanen 412
...meh. Another athlete already selected for World Champs solely for her indoor shape
1. Karin Storbacka 2:03.97 2. Johanna Matintalo 2:05.87 (14yo, 15yo NR)
Only interesting result together with Mannio and maybe the LJ for men. What a weak championship! On the other hand... I doubt the Swedish championship next week will be much better.
Last Elite Games meeting today at Lappeenranta. The main event was of course...
mJT:
1. Sampo Lehtola 83.77 PB 2. Antti Ruuskanen 81.11 3. Jarkko Koski-Vähälä 80.95 4. Tero Pitkämäki 79.37
After 5 rounds Pitkämäki was still leading, but then the other guys apparently got this idea... "this is the last opportunity to make the Finnish team for World Champs" ...and started throwing
The sad thing is that our #7 guy in this one event is as competitive internationally as anyone we have in any other event... The other sad thing is that Tero Järvenpää injured his leg or groin or something.
mLJ:
1. Tommi Evilä 801 2. Roni Ollikainen 791
wSteeple:
1. Sandra Eriksson 9:49.46 SB
Made the B standard by a hair, in a total solo run. She was totally off until a month ago but has been rapidly gaining form
mDT:
1. Märt Israel EST 62.65 2. Mikko Kyyrö 60.60
wJT:
1. Elisabeth Eberl AUT 60.07 PB
m5000:
1. Josphat Kiprono Menjo KEN 13:21.10 2. Collis Birmingham AUS 13:21.38 3. Ben St. Lawrence AUS 13:23.44
w1500:
1. Zoe Buckman AUS 4:06.39 2. Kaila McKnight AUS 4:08.79
As usual, I've evaluated the chances of each athlete on my personal scale of none/slim/some/OK.
(with SBs)
m200 - Jonathan Åstrand (20.50) - chances: slim
That's very slim. A month ago I'd have seriously considered giving him a some, but his form has come crashing down, possibly because of the stomach injury. He'll really have to recover if he is to do anything meaningful.
mSteeple - Jukka Keskisalo (8:26.45) - chances: none
Nowhere near where he used to be...
m50kW - Jarkko Kinnunen (no SB) - chances: some
Probably our best chance outside of the javelin, he really seems to have good upside, though Euro Champs last year was a major disappointment. He has PB'd at both 20k and 30k this year, but with no 50k time it's hard to assess just where he really is right now.
m50kW - Antti Kempas (4:02.37) - chances: none
He has a good champs record but still no chances because his form just isn't there. Still, it's nice to see him recovering
mHJ - Osku Torro (233i) - chances: none
Capable of good jumps, but so far only indoors. And his knee is messed up so badly he very nearly decided not to go. He himself seems to think he has a slim chance but I don't see it.
mPV - Jere Bergius (560) - chances: slim
He looked really good at NCs, but not today. If he can jump the way he did at NCs and has a whole heap of luck he can do another 560 which just might be enough to make the final. Beyond that... nah.
mHT - Olli-Pekka Karjalainen (76.54) - chances: some
Well, at least he has a lot of experience and is in an event that hasn't been doing that well globally lately. So he has some chances of making the final, and I wouldn't be surprised if he can improve that SB. But no medals.
mJT - Ari Mannio (85.12) - chances: OK
Lots and lots of pressure on him now; our only real medal hope. We'll see how he'll do...
mJT - Tero Pitkämäki (85.33) - chances: some
The decision to select him has already drawn criticism... just what has he really shown this year? Then, everyone knows he could rebound and he does have better medaling chances than anyone else who could have taken his spot.
mJT - Sampo Lehtola (83.77) - chances: some
Even after that big throw today it was surprising he was selected; Ruuskanen and Koski-Vähälä have surely shown much more solidity. But it was a big throw in the right place... now we just need two more. At least it seems he can get the best out of himself in a tight corner (he also PB'd at Euro U23s) which is always useful. And he'll get some experience for future
With a time like that, realistically she should have no chances. But you'd have been excused a month ago for giving her no chances of making the team.
wHT - Merja Korpela (69.30) - chances: slim
Again, very very slim chances (of making the final). Will probably take an NR...
wPV - Minna Nikkanen (460i) - chances: none
She was in great shape indoors... but not outdoors. She keeps complaining the weather has been bad (and it often has), but a good athlete can do well in any weather. In her indoor shape she could make the final but I don't see that happening now.
Javelin guys starting to round into something resembling form... too early, as usual
Ruuskanen was the national leader for one day with 82.60, but Mannio improved to 83.74 at Äänekoski yesterday, so he now tops the national list (and is clearly our #1 guy). Wirkkala is also back in action and opened his season with 80.77 in Germany, so his recovery seems to have been OK.
Updated javelin formchart:
1. Vítězslav Veselý (Czech Republic) 2. Andreas Thorkildsen (Norway) 3. Guillermo Martínez (Cuba) 4. Fatih Avan (Turkey) 5. Oleksandr Pyatnytsya (Ukraine) 6. Dmitry Tarabin (Russia) 7. Ari Mannio (Finland) 8. Matthias de Zordo (Germany) 9. Genki Dean (Japan) 10. Stuart Farquhar (New Zealand)
Zigismunds Sirmais threw 84.06 in Estonia on Friday, will be interesting to see how he does at Eugene
Wirkkala improved to 83.73 at Karjaa today, a measly 1 cm off Mannio's national leader Mannio himself was 4th in the Oslo DL with 82.20 and complained he'd left his legs home.
Meanwhile, in the 1500, Niclas Sandells ran a new PB of 3.38.08 (also at Oslo, but outside the main DL programme)... which is the best time by a Finn since 1989! To think we've won three Oly golds in this event
First meet of the Elite Games series today at Tampere. Weather: cold, mostly rainy.
mJT: 1. Antti Ruuskanen 84.95 2. Ivan Zaitsev UZB 76.99 (Mannio, Wirkkala and Pitkämäki weren't competing)
For the first four rounds the track was very, very wet, Zaitsev was leading with 76.01 at that point. Things improved somewhat in the last two rounds, everybody in the top 4 had their best result in round 6... at this point it looks very likely that our team for the Euros will be Ruuskanen, Mannio, Wirkkala, if anybody else wants to make the team they'll have to throw 84+ at Pihtipudas next week.
mLJ: 1. Khotso Mokoena RSA 807 (+0.7) 2. Michel Tornéus SWE 807 (+0.7) 3. Roni Ollikainen 784 (+0.8)
wSteeple: 1. Sandra Eriksson 9:51.41
Cutting 2 seconds from her own national leading time, she's opened this season better than any before... hopefully she can get Johanna Lehtinen's NR of 9:40.28 this year, looking at her improvement profiles from previous years it should be doable
Do you think it's fair to say that Pitkämäki is already past his prime? He has not been the same for a couple of years now, one could argue he has not been able to compete at the same top level since winning the WCh in 2007.
Pitkämäki keeps saying his physical shape has if anything improved since those glory days, but for some or other reason that's not reflected in his results... and lately it's been increasingly hard to blame that solely on technical problems. Sure, he is struggling technically, but I don't see him gaining 15 meters overnight even if he suddenly nails it - and besides, he's been struggling technically for ages yet he's only been throwing below 80 for a year.
It's obvious he's stronger than let's say de Zordo but can't actually get that strength behind the javelin... and that's what's been getting worse lately, despite a half-hearted attempt at imitating de Zordo's rotation. I think some of his original explosiveness is gone It's as if the mycoplasma fatigue from last year still affected his throws, but so far he at least hasn't blamed that.
Anyway, even if it were just a technical problem that wouldn't help much unless he actually solved it
1. Roni Ollikainen 832w (+2.2)/805 (-0.5) 2. Mikko Kivinen 802 (+1.4) 3. Tommi Evilä 799w/795 4. Eero Haapala 786 5. Juho-Matti Pimiä 784
Really a pity Ollikainen fouled all jumps with decent wind readings... he could have taken down Evilä's NR today. Hopefully he at least gets the Oly standard this year, the potential is definitely there but a little luck with winds would be very welcome
1. Tero Pitkämäki 83.87 2. Ari Mannio 83.63 3. Lassi Etelätalo 82.98 4. Teemu Wirkkala 81.88 5. Antti Ruuskanen 81.72
Some headaches for the EC team selectors... Pitkämäki had several throws around 80 but no other big ones (if you can call 83 that). Mannio had one other 81+ throw, Etelätalo had an 80.66, WIrkkala had 4 throws at 80 plus...
Finland will "send" a huge team to the Euros, mostly because as the host country we're allowed one entrant in every event... though there will be some events without any Finns, and of course we only have actual chances in about 2 events
Pitkämäki was named in the team (together with Mannio and Ruuskanen)... personally, I think Wirkkala should have been in (instead of either Ruuskanen or Pitkämäki), he's been very consistent this year.
Highlights from the latest Elite Games meeting in Lapinlahti:
m100: 1. Nicholas Watson JAM 10.29 (+0.1) 2. Ramil Guliyev TUR 10.33
Guliyev had an OK start but a very bad acceleration phase... he was way behind at 70m.
m200: 1. Kenroy Anderson JAM 20.59 (-0.5) 2. Nicholas Watson JAM 20.68 3. Ramil Guliyev TUR 20.69 4. Jonathan Åstrand FIN 21.14
After his good finish in the 100 I thought Guliyev might do well in the 200, but that wasn't the case... he did finish faster than the Jamaicans again but gave up even more ground early on. Åstrand was never in the equation (even though he was still ahead of Guliyev at 120m...), unfortunately he hasn't been in the same shape as last year.
m1500: 1. Jeff Riseley AUS 3:36.10 2. Niclas Sandells FIN 3:36.88 PB 3. Belal Mansoor Ali BRN 3:37.49
Best time by a Finn in 32 years! Got the Oly B standard at the last moment too
mJT: 1. Tero Pitkämäki 81.70 2. Antti Ruuskanen 79.70 6. Teemu Wirkkala 75.45
Ruuskanen was still a convalescent, Wirkkala turned up to throw as this was the last opportunity but his ankle's still a mess PItkämäki and Ruuskanen should both make the Oly team.
Mostly jumped into a headwind but the results are still a disappointment... neither Evilä or Ollikainen looked very energetic today. We have 3 guys at 800+ this year but nobody got the Oly B standard...
w100: 1. Hayley Jones GBR 11.57 (-0.8) 2. Noora Hämäläinen FIN 12.04
wSteeple: 1. Sandra Eriksson 9:43.38 PB
A complete solo run, yet she improved her PB from '09 and also got the Oly B standard at the last moment
Results from Lappeenranta... the weather conditions were very Londonian so the meet likely served well as an Olympic tune-up
m100:
1. Jacques Harvey JAM 10.25 (-0.7) 2. Ramil Guliyev TUR 10.40 5. Visa Hongisto 10.64
Another bad race for Guliyev, his acceleration phase wasn't any better than at Lapinlahti.
m200: 1. Ramil Guliyev TUR 20.53 (+0.0) 2. Rasheed Dwyer JAM 20.70
The first race in a while where he looked more like the real Guliyev - though again it was a case of being well behind at 120m and zooming past everybody near the end. Can't help wondering if he should try a 400...
m1500: 1. Niclas Sandells 3:38.44 2. Garrett Heath USA 3:38.63 3. Craig Miller USA 3:39.07
This had been hyped as an attempt at Pekka Vasala's ancient NR, but really I'm not sure Sandells is quite in the form to break that, even if he did get really close at Lapinlahti. Anyway, while he was still capable of out-kicking the Americans at 3:38 it wasn't nearly as impressive as his finish in the EC heats off a slower pace, so I'm hoping he gets a slow race at London... preferably multiple slow races of course
m3000: 1. Josephat Menjo KEN 7:44.07 2. Ben St. Lawrence AUS 8:04.62
mJT: 1. Oleksandr Pyatnytsya UKR 81.38 2. Antti Ruuskanen 79.03 3. Risto Mätas EST 77.50
Things aren't looking good for Finnish JT guys. Yes, the conditions were far from ideal, but they should still be throwing much further...
w400h: 1. Tiffany Williams USA 57.14
w1500: 1. Peril Nengampi KEN 4:09.96 2. Zoe Buckman AUS 4:10.57 3. Yekaterina Gorbunova RUS 4:11.97 5. Suvi Selvenius 4:22.25
Gorbunova really didn't look like a sub-4 runner here... On the Finnish front, Karin Storbacka, who was in promising form last year, has been nearly completely sidelined this year by health problems.
wHT: 1. Anna Bulgakova RUS 67.06 2. Merja Korpela 66.43 3. Alina Kastrova BLR 64.37
Results from Kuortane, the last Finnish meet of any importance before the Olys. Conditions: highly windy but otherwise good.
mLJ: 1. Michel Tornéus SWE 822 (+2.0) NR 2. Eero Haapala 789w/786
Tornéus currently seems to thrive in Finland - he's jumped 8+ four times this year, all of them in Finland. Our best guys (Ollikainen and Evilä) were missing but their form seems to have been down lately anyhow, so I doubt they could have threatened Tornéus here.
mJT: 1. Tero Pitkämäki 84.90 2. Lassi Etelätalo 84.06 3. Ari Mannio 82.18 4. Antti Ruuskanen 81.63 5. Julius Yego KEN 81.12 NR .. 10. Bartosz Osewski POL 71.25
The conditions were excellent, so don't necessarily expect these guys to replicate their results in London. I'm afraid Pitkämäki might be particularly susceptible to this... though 84.90 in any conditions is very encouraging Etelätalo is a great 6th round thrower, his best throws have always come in the last round - today, for instance, he only had 77.92 after 5 rounds
mHT: 1. David Söderberg 75.21 2. Olli-Pekka Karjalainen 75.16 3. Mattias Jons SWE 75.00
Our one Olympic spot in the HT was on the line today, and the fight for it proved close and exciting Söderberg's undoubtedly in better form right now, but Karjalainen has more upside and is by far the better big meet competitor so I'm in two minds about Söderberg winning.
mPV: 1. Jere Bergius 560
A very welcome result for Bergius - it's been a while since he had any jumps this good, and the windy conditions surely didn't make it easy.
wHT: 1. Anna Bulgakova RUS 69.13 2. Merja Korpela 66.07
Korpela had to somehow do 69.00 today to be selected for the Olympics, and unsurprisingly she wasn't even close; she hasn't been in her best form this year.
Full results here. As this was the last meet our Oly team should be finalized now, I'll give my usual analysis of its chances (or lack thereof) later.
roixordo, thanks - I meant to post that but forgot
Our final team for London... 17 athletes, but most of them will have no chances whatsoever of even making the final/top 8 or 12. My analysis of the team follows below...
m200: Jonathan Åstrand (SB 20.92) - chances: none
He was in promising form in 2010 and especially early 2011, but this year's been a far cry from his best form. No realistic chances of even making the semis.
m1500: Niclas Sandells (3:36.88) - chances: slim
He looked very good at the Euros before falling in the final, but today he seemed pretty tired (then, it was a 3K in nasty conditions...) He has a good kick but fast races would essentially kill his chances, so there's a luck factor involved here; if his heat is slower than 3:40 I'd expect him to make the semis at least.
mMar: Jussi Utriainen (2:16:35) - chances: none
Nuff said. i'd be happy if he made the top 40.
mSteeple: Jukka Keskisalo (8:27.96) - chances: none
I briefly considered a slim based on his old times and champs reputation, but... nah. I'd be very surprised and delighted should he make the final.
m50kW: Jarkko Kinnunen (2:08:49/30k) - chances: some
I can't help but feel he's underperformed in the 50 - he placed 9th in '09 and is surely in better form now, but EC '10 and WC '11 were both disappointments. Less hype than the last couple years, but hopefully more substance.
m50kW: Antti Kempas (3:56:51/'11) - chances: none
Realistically it has to be a none, even though he's a more consistent performer than Kinnunen. He's never shown the sub-3:50 ability a slim would require... hoping for a surprise
mHJ: Osku Torro (228) - chances: none
He's had some visits at 230+, but always indoors, and his major meet history also weighs against him. Torro making the final would be a big surprise.
mPV: Jere Bergius (572) - chances: slim
Today's 560 was promising, but a spot in the final is the best he can hope for, and even that seems unlikely as he's far from being consistent.
mJT: Antti Ruuskanen (84.95) - chances: OK mJT: Tero Pitkämäki (84.90) - chances: OK mJT: Ari Mannio (84.31) - chances: OK
All of them have something going for them - Pitkämäki has known upside, Mannio is the most consistent and won a bronze at EC and Ruuskanen has a good major meet record. Even so, I'd be surprised by a medal and will be relieved even if only two of them make the final.
Thinking more globally, the London field will be very deep but the top end is far from sharp, and an 84 might well win a medal. Even the gold is within the reach of many.
mHT: David Söderberg (77.53) - chances: slim
With the way major HT comps (and qualifications) have turned out lately, 77.53 would rate him a some if he were a proven big meet guy... which he isn't. He said today he's strong in the rain.
wMar: Leena Puotiniemi (2:35:54/'11) - chances: none
The one good thing that can be said here is that some have been inspired by a 36-year-old mother making the Olympics... actually achieving anything in there seems extremely unlikely.
She's traditionally done okay at big meets, but right now she doesn't have the major upside a spot in the final would require. She was the last to make the EC final, and even that only after a disqualification.
w20kW: Anne Halkivaha (1:37:05) - chances: none
She has progressed steadily but is still a long way from the top of the heap. No chances of a meaningful placing.
wPV: Minna Nikkanen (440) - chances: none
Sadly, it looks as if she's in her worst form in years. The lack of any domestic opponents seems to hurt.
wJT: Sanni Utriainen (59.31) - chances: none
The good news is that she's still improving, be it very slowly. Right now it seems unlikely she's the next big thing, and certainly she isn't a big thing right now.
Sadly, all five of our women rated a none... our men are much stronger by comparison, but even they have trouble on the world stage.
While I'm at it, an updated mJT formchart:
1. Vítězslav Veselý (Czech Republic) 2. Oleksandr Pyatnytsya (Ukraine) 3. Guillermo Martínez (Cuba) 4. Andreas Thorkildsen (Norway) 5. Genki Dean (Japan) 6. Igor Janik (Poland) 7. Jarrod Bannister (Australia) 8. Ari Mannio (Finland) 9. Tero Pitkämäki (Finland) 10. Roman Avramenko (Ukraine)
The men's JT is a complete crapshoot this year with so many of the big(ger) names struggling. Even Vesely, while the consistent of the bunch, is hardly performing at a great level. I think there are about 15 guys that could win a medal.
croflash wrote:The men's JT is a complete crapshoot this year with so many of the big(ger) names struggling. Even Vesely, while the consistent of the bunch, is hardly performing at a great level. I think there are about 15 guys that could win a medal.
You are right. Vesely seems to be fading a bit. Thorkildsen or del Zordo could maybe have managed 88 meteres in London but I doubt Thorkildsen will be able to throw that far . He is just back to throwing now. Maybe del Zordo can get back in time.
We won't see 90m since this is "Stadium Javelin". Zelezny holds the "record" with 92.80 (304-5) from Edmonton 2001.
croflash wrote:The men's JT is a complete crapshoot this year with so many of the big(ger) names struggling. Even Vesely, while the consistent of the bunch, is hardly performing at a great level. I think there are about 15 guys that could win a medal.
You are right. Vesely seems to be fading a bit.
Agreed... and his qualifications at both Daegu and Helsinki were a bit touch-and-go. For all I put him at #1 I wouldn't be amazed if he went out in the Q!
Men's LJ is just as bad in this respect... impossible to pick the medalists.
Last meet of the Elite Games series was today at Joensuu... both Pitkämäki and Ruuskanen turned up only one day after Stockholm DL, the latter actually winning the series' main prize (which was only €10000 this year).
Jukka Keskisalo (who injured himself at London) announced his retirement today and had a short farewell ceremony on the infield.
m100: 1. Justyn Warner CAN 10.35 (-1.0) 6. Eero Haapala 10.79
mHT: 1. Sergey Litvinov RUS 77.25 2. David Söderberg 73.52
mJT: 1. Antti Ruuskanen 84.09 2. Lassi Etelätalo 82.40 3. Tero Pitkämäki 82.14 4. Ari Mannio 81.39
Ruuskanen had a very nice consistent series and seemed to get a bit more air below his throws than normally. Etelätalo must be the world's best 6th round thrower, again his by far best throw came in the last round (his second best was 78.86...) Pitkämäki had leg problems but his series as a whole was still better than yesterday. Mannio doesn't seem to be in his early shape anymore with the National Champs and the dual meet against Sweden still left... he almost always seems to peak early.
w1500: 1. Yelena Korobkina RUS 4:06.73 2. Zoe Buckman AUS 4:08.24 4. Johanna Lehtinen 4:11.83 (national leading time)
Finnish NCs were held this weekend in Lahti. Highlights below...
mJT: 1. Antti Ruuskanen 87.79 2. Ari Mannio 84.62 3. Tero Pitkämäki 83.48 4. Lassi Etelätalo 80.15
New PB for Ruuskanen, unless you count his sloping-ground 87.88 from 2007 SB for Mannio... both of them nailed it nicely in the final round. Pitkämäki was in the lead after 4 rounds (Ruuskanen threw 83.71 in round 5).
mHT: 1. Olli-Pekka Karjalainen 73.21
His 15th consecutive gold at Finnish Champs... with his worst winning mark. Previous worst was 75.08 from 1998 (when he was still 18!)
mLJ: 1. Roni Ollikainen 791 2. Eero Haapala 787 3. Tommi Evilä 771
w200: 1. Hanna-Maari Latvala 23.38 (+0.1) 2. Ella Räsänen 23.79
Big PB for Latvala, who also easily won the 100 and smashed Räsänen over the last 50 - even though the latter's supposedly a 400 specialist. #2 on FInnish lists after 2000 (Johanna Manninen had several faster times).
w800: 1. Karin Storbacka 2:06.09 2. Johanna Matintalo 2:07.43
This was Storbacka's first real competition this summer, she had her whole season spoiled by allergy problems (she's had them every year, and this was the worst pollen year in ages, so...) Matintalo is still only 15yo, but the downside is that she was also 2nd last year... in 2:05.87.
NJR for Kettunen (who was 7th at the World Juniors this year). Hopefully she can actually deliver on this promise - unlike so many others... The same athletes went 1-2 in the 5k, Eriksson winning with a 100m sprint in both cases.
Utriainen (who made the final at Helsinki and represented us at London) has lately been in really very bad form. Sormunen dominated from the get-go (her worst throw was 54.64) and threw a new PB in the last round.
Utriainen is coached by her father Esa (a 90.94 thrower with the old model), while Sormunen is coached by Seppo Räty. I guess that just isn't enough...
wHJ: 1. Eleriin Haas 188 2. Elina Smolander 186
New PB for Smolander. Haas won both Estonian and Finnish championships in one week... with the same winning height!
Some nice Finnish results from a FIN-SWE-NOR triangular match in Växjö (Sweden):
m200:
1. Jonathan Åstrand 20.72 (indoor NR) 2. Nil de Oliveira SWE 21.21
Previous indoor NR was 21.13 by Tommi Hartonen, so that was quite an improvement! Åstrand didn't look that sharp in the 60 but his endurance seems to be up. Let's hope he can break the outdoor NR (20.47) as well
w200:
1. Hanna-Maari Latvala 23.30 PB 2. Irene Ekelund SWE 23.57
Better than her outdoor PB, too. In addition, Ella Räsänen only lost to European Champion Moa Hjelmer by 0.02 in the w400 (though the time wasn't that great at 53.52), so it looks as if there's finally some light at the end of the tunnel for Finnish sprinting
NCs this weekend. An awful lot of very fast reaction times (even below 0.100) in the sprints; they blamed their new silent gun system, but I can't help wondering if that really explains everything.
Nooralotta Neziri set a new NR in the w60m hurdles of 8.07 in the heats before being DQ'd (false start) in the final. Ella Räsänen followed up on her good performance at Växjö with a 52.99 iNR and a 23.67 iNJR, so it seems she's progressing again after a couple disappointing years The only world-class mark was Eero Haapala's 803 in the long jump; he'll likely be our lone medal hope at the Euro Indoors. I just hope he qualifies for the final, he's had an ugly tendency to get his best marks in 5th and 6th rounds this year...
Since Eleriin Haas won another Finnish championship today I should probably elaborate. She's a citizen of Estonia but has permanent residence in Finland and represents a Finnish club, which means she (or rather, her club) can apply for an eligibility permit. Obviously, as an Estonian citizen she's also eligible for the championships of that country
The other sad thing is that Tero Järvenpää injured his leg or groin or something.
