Liisa Harstela: showing a clean pair of (high-) heels
Sprint organisers shamelessly neglect dope-testing
By Lauri Korolainen
At 4 a.m. on Saturday morning*, 29-year-old Liisa Harstela woke up at home in Germany.
At 17:30 in the evening she powered to victory in Finland’s first high-heeled sprint, held in the square between the Kamppi Center and the Lasipalatsi building in downtown Helsinki.
Harstela showed a clean pair of heels to all comers in every round from the qualifying heats to the final.
A fair number of the hundred entrants in the race were from abroad, but when the heats were done and it came down to the final, the first four finishers were all homegrown talents.
Kirsi Huttunen got off to a flyer in the final, but over the critical last 20 metres, Harstela and Sanna Luoma - who was turned out in a fetching Friesian cow outfit - gradually reeled her in.
Within metres of the line, Sanna Luoma got her nose in front, but a blistering finish by Harstela ensured that she breasted the tape a fraction ahead.
“It feels great - couldn’t be better” , gushed the delighted winner as the prizes were handed out.
Harstela revealed that the secret of her speed was in the black track-heels she was wearing, but there may well have been some intangibles at work besides this.
One thing is certain - the winner had no advance nerves. Nor did she have the pressures of an ante-post favourite to worry her behind her dark racing glasses, or the hopes and fears of a nation to bear on her shoulders, like javelin-thrower Tero Pitkämäki.
Taking part in the competition was one component of Harstela’s hen-party programme, and the amateur runner (who is to be married in six weeks’ time) had no earthly idea she had been entered for the race until she had it rudely sprung on her half an hour before the off.
In addition to raw speed over the 80-metre asphalt course in not-very-sensible-pumps, the competitors were judged for style.
The prize for the most original outfit went to 24-year-old music education student Heli Kajo, who picked up a gift voucher for 300 euros.
Harstela’s fleetness of foot won her a nice windfall of a EUR 4,000 gift voucher entitling her to shop till she dropped.
And she was pretty fast.
The clock in the final showed a winning time of 12.38.
Eat your heart out, Usain Bolt - you try doing that in stilettos instead of your golden Puma spikes!
According to the organisers, the event was free from any taint that the runners might have been using performance-enhancing substances.
However, it has to be admitted that there were no breathalysers in evidence, nor were any random samples of blood or urine taken from the competitors.
The fact that a woman out celebrating the impending loss of singles status should have trounced the opposition does nevertheless raise the question that rigorous doping-tests should perhaps be carried out in future years.
The competition for the well-heeled was arranged by the commerical TV channel Nelonen.
It drew a large and enthusiastic crowd, as might only be expected.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 24.8.2008
*Note: Saturday, 23rd August. I cannot imagine what possessed us to overlook this story first time around. Better late than never.
More on this subject:
 Years of rigorous training end in bitter semi-final disappointment
See also:
Video of the event
LAURI KOROLAINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
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| 2.9.2008 - THIS WEEK |
Liisa Harstela: showing a clean pair of (high-) heels
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