Harju
Ready for Championship challenge
Edmonton 2001 news team
2 August 2001 - Edmonton - Olympic shot put champion Arsi Harju looked relaxed
and fully confident today. The last practice puts have been thrown and he has
now had sufficient time in the last six days to get used to the time differences
and local surroundings.
The preparations for these championships have gone according to plan, save for
the minor issue of being the last thrower selected for the Finnish shot squad.
It was not until his sixth and final throw of 20.98m - just 10cm ahead of Tepa
Reinikainen (sixth in the world list, 20.88m) - in the final qualification meet
on 22 July that he had booked his ticket for Edmonton.
"I wasn't really worried. I knew my condition. I just had to put the pieces
together" confirmed Harju.
Even though two championship level putters were out of the race for a place in
the team (Mika Halvari, World indoor Champion -95 and Timo Aaltonen, European
indoor champion -00) the Finnish team had to drop Reinikainen from the team,
because Conny Karlsson (20.49 - 16th) and Ville Tiisanoja (20.78 -9th) had
qualified for Edmonton in earlier competitions.
"It is only a good thing to have tough competition at home," said Harju, "It is
a very clear thing, you have to get good results to show your standard. It gives
more uplift to the event."
Harju's 20.98m is the fourth best put in the world this year and his summer
average reaches 20.19m compared to his pre-Sydney level of 19.96m. Excluding
this seasons' opening 20.70m, the modest early season and the later improvement
also follows last year's trend.
"It is hard to make comparisons with last year, because the time scale is
different. Last year I didn't put over 20 meters until 2 August, now I have to
be at my best around the same time" continued Harju.
Yet what does this promise for the upcoming final was the next question?
"It is terribly difficult to guess the level in the final. If you look back at
the past results, you don't necessarily need a huge put for a medal placing.
I've had a clear plan how to get ready for the final. There's been no changes to
it," said the champion who stands just 1.83, tall and weighs only 110 kg,
"I cannot say that I have reached some higher level in my condition. It's not
that straight forward. Of course everything is aimed at the final, but sometimes
you do better sometimes worse. In Sydney I had a growing feeling that everything
was finding its place. Again I have that feeling, that I have chance to fight
with the other competitors. It is just these little things which make the
success. Peak condition is so hard to define. Over the years I've had only three
puts over 21 meters so I don't have too much experience about that."
It's not a surprise that Harju has replayed the videotape from the Sydney
competition many, many times, leading up to these championships. Although the
main reason is to study technique he also admits he enjoys the memories.
"The gold medal in Sydney was the greatest I have achieved, but it is already
past, now I have to reach for new challenges," he said, "It didn't really change
anything dramatically in my life. I feel I am the same person as earlier. I have
not been interested to try to turn the success into great wealth, there are a
lot more important things in life than the thickness of your wallet. However, it
has been a bit easier to get sponsors, so I can concentrate on training for
future championships and for Athens 2004."
The last year has brought Harju success but along with it tragic loss. During
the winter his fiancée died after a lengthy illness and he was consumed with
grief. Understandably, he did not compete indoors. The fact that he kept her
illness bottled up for so long was testament to his character. At the press
conference he offered a philosophical position on the matter.
"I feel that in your life you need both happiness and grief. Without the other
they would lose their meaning. There are ups and downs in your life, you just
have to learn to live with it."
After winning the Olympic shot gold medal - the first by a Finn since 1920 - his
home town of Perho awarded him with a Harley Davidson. He hasn't been able to
put as many kilometres on the meter as he would have liked.
"I do hope there will be a warm autumn in Finland," he laughed, "I guess
everybody has his own thing, something one likes to do best. Motorcycling is
mine. But it is not time for it, not quite yet."
