Finland's Tero Pitkamaki scores a convincing win in Oslo Golden League (© Getty Images)
Tero Pitkämäki of Finland, IAAF World Ranked number one for the men’s Javelin Throw, opened his 2006 season in confident mood with a 88.41m blast from his throwing arm in a small meeting in Seinäjoki, Finland, a town possibly better known internationally as the centre of the Finnish version of tango.
Pitkämäki, despite finishing a disappointing fourth in appalling weather conditions at the World Championships final in Helsinki last summer, finished last season as the sixth longest thrower of all-time (91.53m), one of his three competitions over 90m in 2005.
23-year-old Pitkämäki, the 2005 World Athletics Final winner in Monaco (91.33m), is now set up an exciting showdown with Norway’s Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen at the opening IAAF Golden League meeting of 2006, the Exxon Mobil Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway on 2 June.
Last year in Oslo, the Finn threw 90.54m to beat 2003 World champion Sergey Makarov of Russia (87.76), with Thorkildsen in third in a national record of 87.66m, and the Norwegian improved to finish 2005 with a best of 89.60m (second behind Pitkämäki) in Monaco. In spectacular fashion the 24-year-old Thorkildsen opened his 2006 campaign by extending this PB to 90.13m on 12 May to win the World Athletics Tour meeting in Doha.
Also of note in today’s Seinäjoki competition was the throwing of another young Finn, Antti Russkanen. The 22-year-old, who is a European Junior bronze and European U23 silver medallist, threw 82.20m, his first time over 80m, and a dramatic improvement on his old personal best of 79.75m (2005).
Chris Turner for the IAAF
RESULTS: Seinäjoki, Finland, 21 May 2006
Javelin -
1) Tero Pitkämäki 88.41m
Series – 85.27, 82.78, 80.34, 8841, 84.36, 86.27.
2) Antti Ruuskanen 82.20m
Series – 75.83, 77.05, x, 76.74, 75.88, 82.20),
3) Viljo Toivanen 78.94m
4) Ari Mannio 75.58m