Relief all round: Marko Kemppainen takes first Finnish medal in Athens
Disappointment for fancied sailor Multala
On Sunday afternoon, Marko Kemppainen erased the growing fears of many Finns - not least among sports administrators - that the Olympic team would return home from Athens without any medals.
Kemppainen, 28, won the silver medal in the men's skeet shooting after a thrilling final round.
The Finn entered the six-man final in the lead after shooting down all 125 clay targets during the five qualifying rounds on Saturday and Sunday. In the 25-target final, Kemppainen missed one target, leading to a shoot-off for the gold with Italian Andrea Benelli.
Kemppainen missed one target in the second round of the shoot-off, but Benelli failed to clinch the gold, as he also missed out - his first error of the day - immediately afterwards. The Finn's confidence was evidently beginning to wane, as he missed again in the third round, with Benelli making no mistakes this time.
Before the Olympics, Kemppainen had pondered that a place in the final would be an excellent result. Despite the initial disappointment after the shoot-off, the Kainuu native was therefore extremely pleased with his silver medal.
"He tried to give me the gold, but I just was not the one to take it", Kemppainen commented immediately after the competition. "Of course you have to be a little disappointed when you get to shoot for the Olympic gold for once in your life - or at least you have to pretend to be disappointed. But actually I am pretty damned pleased", the Finn later said.
Kemppainen had shot with an average of 121/125 in international competitions this year. "I figured that I needed to shoot a bit better than I know how. I decided that I won't be just a tourist here." His achievement in the qualifying rounds equalled the world record for the event, and his medal was the first in this particular sport by a Finn since 1924.
Kemppainen was not a complete outsider in the competition: he was 3rd in the World Championships in 2001, and was fourth earlier this year in a World Cup event in Cairo. He took up the sport at the age of ten, and was supported by his father, himself a proficient marksman, although the family would have had other things to spend money on than shotgun cartridges. Sadly, Kemppainen's father was not present to see the results of the training. He died two years ago.
Finland's other shooting favourite, Juha Hirvi, did not succeed in defending his silver medal in the men's 50-metre rifle event. Hirvi finished 15th in the qualifying rounds, with eight men proceeding to the final.
Sari Multala, one of Finland's biggest medal hopefuls in the run-up to the Olympics, lost her chance for hardware in the Europe-class sailing after poor performances in Friday's two races. Multala, who has several World and European Championship medals to her name, finished fifth in the Olympic regatta.
Thomas Johanson and Jukka Piirainen are still continuing their campaign in the men's 49er sailing. The duo are lying in seventh place with five races out of sixteen remaining, and at least the bronze medal is within their reach if they perform well this week.
Another Finnish hopeful this week will be Joona Puhakka, who competes in the 3-metre springboard diving. Puhakka is the recent silver medallist in the European Championships at this event, and he also won the European title on the 1-metre board.
Previously in HS International Edition:
Day Five continues the Finnish disappointments in Athens (19.8.2004)
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 23.8.2004 - TODAY |
Relief all round: Marko Kemppainen takes first Finnish medal in Athens
|
|
