Ari Mannio launches a season best 85.10m at the Finnish Championships (© Paula Noronen)
Ari Mannio’s season best 85.10m effort in the Men’s Javelin Throw final was the brightest highlight at the Finnish Championships which concluded in Turku on Sunday (7).
Mannio set his winning mark in the fit round on Sunday and secured his place on the Finnish Team for the IAAF Championships in Daegu which begin on 27 August.
Tero Järvenpää finished second with 80.10m while Antti Ruuskanen, who had set 82.21m in the qualification on Saturday, took the third with a 79.51m best, also in the fifth round.
"Finally it looks like I've found my technique," Mannio said. "Today I had good speed and released the spear in a good position. Of course I’ll fly to Daegu in order to succeed, not just to take part."
So far Mannio hasn’t been selected to any senior major championships, but his merits as a junior are fine. In 2009 he won the European U23 title in Kaunas.
The former World champion Tero Pitkämäki did not throw in Turku due to medical reasons. He is expected to compete at the fifth of five Finnish Elite Games meetings in Lappeenranta on Saturday 13 August and decide after that if he’s able to throw in Daegu.
The entire Finnish Team will be announced in Lappeenranta, but it’s already clear that it will be smaller that ever before, with a maximum 15 athletes, three of them women.
The men’s Long Jump on Saturday (6) was a very good competition in Turku, as well. Roni Ollikainen set his PB of 8.08m in the fifth round, but Tommi Evilä produced a winning mark of 8.08 on his final attempt. Unfortunately Evilä missed the "B" Standard for Daegu by only two centimetres.
"It was a very difficult competition, because I suffered from fever already in Friday’s qualification,” Evilä said. “After Roni’s big jump many kind of thoughts came into my mind - mostly the Finnish Champs in 2001 here when I won my first title with a windy 8.01 in the sixth round."
Olli-Pekka Karjalainen took his 14th consecutive Finnish title after throwing 75.20m, exactly the same result as last year. Karjalainen will be selected for Daegu, because he beat Tuomas Seppänen and David Söderberg, the other "B" standard breakers.
In the Pole Vault Jere Bergius cleared 5.60m and secured his Daegu ticket by beating Eemeli Salomäki, who went over 5.52m.
Three athletes took two golds: Niclas Sandells in the men’s 800 and 1500m, Karin Storbacka in the same women’s same events, and Anniina Laitinen both in the women’s 400m flat and hurdles.
Jukka Keskisalo, the former European Steeplechase champion, ran only the 5000m and won his first title over the distance with a very fast last lap. Janne Ukonmaanaho was the fastest in the Steeplechase.
In the Men’s 100m Hannu Hämäläinen took a surprise victory in front of the favourite Jonathan Åstrand. Running agains a headwind Hämäläinen clocked only 10.72. Åstrand passed on the 200m due to an minor muscle injury.
In the men’s High Jump Jussi Viita took his first title by clearing 2.20m on his second attempt. Osku Torro, who leaped 2.33m in the last indoor season, needed a third try at 2.20m and shared some bad news after the competition.
"My left knee is so soar that right now I think that I can’t jump in Daegu. I’ll decide it on Monday, but getting operated as soon as possible is more likely," Torro said.
Some good news was that Jarkko Kinnunen set his PB of 1:23:40 in the men’s 20km Race Walk. In Daegu Kinnunen will compete only in the 50km, in which he could be one of the possible surprisers.
The Decathlon was also a good competition, won by Sami Itani, who set his PB of 7731 points.
The women’s sprints were won by 17-year-old rising stars. Ella Räsänen, the U18 finalist in the 400m, clocked 12.06 in the 100m and Anna Hämäläinen won the 200m in her PB of 23.76 while Räsänen took the silver in 23.98.
In the women’s Hammer Throw Merja Korpela and Sini Latvala took their 13th medals as Korpela won with 67.10m in the fourth round while Latvala (nee Pöyry) placed third.
Also behind the winners some very promising performances by youngsters were seen, above all by 14-year-old Johanna Matintalo who finished second in the 800m in 2:05.87.
Antti-Pekka Sonninen
