Aki Parviainen throwing in Paris 2003 (© Getty Images)
One era in Finnish Javelin throwing ended on Thursday (27 April) when Aki Parviainen, the 1999 World champion, officially retired from the sport.
Parviainen, who competed in nine major championships between 1995 and 2005 and only missing the Finnish team for the 1996 and 2004 Olympics, appeared to be in good mood when he told the press about his decision.
"Of course I feel a bit sad, in the middle of his career a professional athlete usually thinks about winning, but right now I understand that it's everything else that's great about the sport," Parviainen said. The 31-year-old said he had been training to compete until the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but the injuries just kept on coming and particulary this winter, pain in his knees led to his final decision.
"One can say that from 2001 forwards I haven't been training, but just conducting physical treatment. Now the treatment didn't help anymore and it was time for me to quit."
Promising junior talent
The Finnish national record holder at 93.09m from 1999, which gives him the No. 2 position on the World all-time list behind world record holder Jan Zelezny (CZE), Parviainen a super promising youth. In 1991 he threw 79.96m, still being 16-years-old at the time. This is still the best result by a 16-year-old, as is his 80.94m in 1992 when he took fourth place in the Finnish National Championships at the age 17. Parviainen also grabbed the World Junior title in Seoul that same year.
It took a few years before he gained his first senior appearance in a major championships. In 1995 he progressed to 85.60m and competed in the Gothenburg World Championships at the age of 20. But the young man didn't just take the trip as a learning experience, finishing ninth in the final. This first performance marked the start of an extraordinary major championships series for Parviainen. He is a very rare javelin thrower as he never failed to reach the final in the nine major championships he competed in. In fact, ninth was the lowest position he would achieve over the years.
Seville title the highlight
"Naturally winning the World Championships gold (Seville 1999) was the highlight of my career, but there are lots of other good memories as well, Parviainen said, reflecting on his career. "I would change some bad days that I had, but I wouldn't do anything differently. The road I took has taken me to the top of the world and made a little boy's dreams come true."
Parviainen's best years were 1998-2001 when he beat the 90m line during those four consecutive years with a total of eight 90m efforts in all. Following a disappointing ninth place at the 1998 European Championships in Budapest, he grabbed his biggest honour the next year in Seville. Following three 90m competitions in 2000 Parviainen could only finish fifth in the Sydney Olympics, but again bounced back in Edmonton 2001. He started the final with a massive 91.31m throw only to see Jan Zelezny to overtake him with a 92.80m toss later in the competition. Edmonton was pretty much his last competition before the injuries took over.
About his future, Parviainen said that first he will spend a decent summer holiday with his family and work as a co-commentator for some athletics meeting for Finnish National TV (YLE).
"Coaching interests me in the future, but first I need to take some distance from my own active career."
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
