Olympic
champion Harju spins back from injury with 20.67m
7 July 2002 – Finland’s Olympic shot champion Arsi Harju in only his second
competition of the summer since sustaining a thigh injury at a warm weather
training camp in April, threw 20.67m in Hämeenkyrö, Finland on Saturday, to book
an automatic spot in the Finnish team for August’s European Championships in
Munich.
This weekend the famous annual throwing carnivals took place across Finland, with all winners who also possessed an EAA qualification standard gaining automatic selection for Munich.
Behind Harju, who also won world bronze in Edmonton last year, another three Finnish shot putters crossed the 20m line in Hämeenkyrö - Ville Tiisanoja 20.47, Tepa Reinikainen 20.43 and Mika Halvari 20.18. Of these most interest will be paid to Halvari, the 1995 world indoor champion and outdoor silver medalist who is returning to 20m plus form after rupturing his Achilles tendon (for the second time) in 2000. World championships 7th placer Conny Karlsson was back in 5th with 19.98m.
In the 32nd annual javelin carnival, which took place in Pihtipudas on Sunday 7 July former men’s world junior record holder Harri Haatainen and women’s European bronze medallist Mikaela Ingberg, were the two throwers to book their Munich tickets.
With world silver medallist Aki Parviainen still to make his season’s debut after being sidelined by injury, Haatainen is currently Finland’s best javelin thrower. A throw of 84.28m, Haatainen's longest so far this season, beat Ari Pakarinen who was second with 83.03m. Pakarinen was 5th in the 1993 world championships but has suffered a number of serious injuries in recent years including a torn ribcage.
The women’s javelin in Pihtipudas was won by Ingberg with 61.70m, from former world junior champion Taina Kolkkala (nee Uppa) second with 60.31m.
In the men’s hammer which was held in the town of Kaustinen on Saturday (6 July), former world junior champion Olli-Pekka Karjalainen who set a Finnish record of 81.70 on 16 June – the sixth furthest throw in the world this season – won the carnival with 78.72 from David Söderberg’s 74.51m. Söderberg who has a best of 76.51 also from last month, is the most likely thrower to join Karjalainen in Munich when the final Finnish selections are made after the national championships in Joensuu (18 - 21 July).
Sini Pöyry, the former world junior silver medallist won the women’s contest with 66.18 and is in good form having already thrown 68.28 (11th furthest throw in the world this year) in Helsinki at the beginning of June.
The men’s discus carnival in Jalasjärvi (6 July) was won by the world’s 4th longest thrower of 2001 (69.62m) Timo Tompuri, whose 62.46 was enough to beat Timo Sinervo’s 62.11m.
Selected results -
Pihtipudas, 7.7.2002 - Javelin
Men:
1) Harri Haatainen 84.28, (79.47, x, 83.69, 82.55, x, 84.28), 2) Ari Pakarinen
83.03 (73.58, x, 83.03, 77.64, x, 82.38), 3) Jarkko Koski-Vähälä 79.30, 4) Teemu
Pasanen 78.25, 5) Harri Hakkarainen 77.36, 6) Kimmo Kinnunen 76.83, 7) Pauli
Piiparinen 76.63, 8) Tero Pitkämäki 73.42,
B-Final: 1) Jarkko Kinnunen 77.16
Women:
1) Mikaela Ingberg 61.70 (54.68, 61.04, x, x, 60.16, 61.70) , 2) Taina Kolkkala
60.31 (57.46, 59.93, 60.31, x, 59.65, x), 3) Paula Huhtaniemi, 4) Goldie Sayers
GBR 57.86, 5) Kirsi Ahonen 56.72.
Hämeenkyrö, Kyröskoski 6.7.2002 – Shot
Men:
1) Arsi Harju 20.67, 2) Ville Tiisanoja 20.47, 3) Tepa Reinikainen 20.43, 4)
Mika Halvari 20.18, 5) Conny Karlsson 19.98, 6) Jani Illikainen 19.58, 7) Timo
Aaltonen 18.80, 8) Jarkko Haukijärvi 18.64.
B-Final: 1) Mika Vasara 19.09, 2) Robert Häggblom 19.01
Women:
1) Anna Rauhala 16.00.
Kaustinen 6.7.2002 - Hammer
Men:
1) Olli-Pekka Karjalainen 78.72, 2) David Söderberg 74.51, 3) Jarkko Paljakka
69.05, 4) Dorian Collaku (Albania) 68.23.
Women:
1) Sini Pöyry 66.18, 2) Merja Korpela 62.81, 3) Katri Räsänen 59.64
Jalasjärvi 6.7.2002 - Discus
Men:
1) Timo Tompuri 62.46, 2) Timo Sinervo 62.11, 3) Petri Hakala 59.85, 4) Jouni
Helppikangas 59.42, 5) Janne Hummastenniemi 58.50, 6) Juha Lahdenranta 56.30
Women:
1) Tiina Kankaanpää 58.61.
