Sunday in Osaka provides thin pickings for Finnish athletes
First Finnish appearance for Frantz Kruger ends in disappointment
|
Ilona Ranta
|
|
|
Mikko Kyyrö
|
|
Minna Nikkanen
|
Johanna Manninen
|
Salla Rinne
|
Oskari Frösén
|
|
|
There were no medals and precious few highlights for the Finnish competitors at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka on Sunday. Marathon runner Janne Holmén's plucky 9th place in Saturday's opening event (see linked story) did not inspire others to exceed themselves, and in qualifying competitions on Sunday and Monday none of the Finns managed to progress to the final.
Possibly the biggest disappointment was in the men's discus, where both Frantz Kruger and Mikko Kyyrö failed to get into the top 12 and secure a final place. Kruger was expected to deliver, and was even seen as having an outside chance of getting a medal, but the Sydney Olympics bronze medallist could only throw 60.72 metres and was 19th.
Kruger was competing in a Finnish jersey for the first time, after having been granted a special dispensation to represent his adopted country by the IAAF, who waived the normal quarantine period for athletes who have changed nationality. Born South African, he became a naturalised Finnish citizen earlier this year, and only some intensive lobbying on his behalf - by Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva among others - won him the right to take part in Osaka.
In the end, it was all something of an anti-climax, as Kruger's technique was all over the place, and he admitted that he had felt the home pressures of succeeding and may have tried too hard as a result.
As one Helsingin Sanomat journalist drily pointed out, in addition to being fast-tracked by the sport's governing body "the sympathetic 32-year-old showed that he has also rapidly absorbed the core principles of being a Finnish athlete - underachievement at the most important event of the season".
Mikko Kyyrö, to be fair, could feel slightly aggrieved, as he missed out on qualification by only 57 centimetres after his first throw carried 62.11. This was nevertheless two metres short of his personal best, made two months ago.
Finnish throwers have not had much joy so far: the shot-putters also failed to make the final, and Olli-Pekka Karjalainen made heavy weather of qualifying in the hammer while his colleague David Söderberg fell well short of the mark. More and more hopes are being piled on Tero Pitkämäki and his adjutants in the javelin throw, qualification for which comes up on Friday. Karjalainen, on the other hand, will be in action on Monday afternoon.
Among the women, things were not much better, although Minna Nikkanen deserves credit for equalling her personal best (and the national record) of 4.35 metres in the pole vault.
This was nevertheless not enough to get her into a final that is likely to be The Yelena Isinbaeva Show. The world record holder and reigning World & Olympic Champion only troubled the judges once, sailing over the qualifying mark of 4.55 metres.
Johanna Manninen progressed on Sunday through the first set of heats in the 100 metres, finishing third in her race, but in the quarter-finals she was disqualified for two false starts. She will now have to concentrate on her leg of the women's 4 x 100 metres at the end of the week.
The second day of Salla Rinne's heptathlon was also something of a disappointment: she fell short of her season's best in the long jump, threw a reasonable 48.03 in the javelin, although this, too, was a couple of metres off her personal best, and she was tailed off last in her heat in the closing 800 metres, some 9 seconds outside her personal best time.
When the numbers were all added up, Rinne slipped down the rankings to 26th, and was well shy of the 6,000 points she had set as a target.
Sweden's Carolina Klüft continued her imperious reign in this event, and even set a new European record of 7,032 points.
The news on the Finnish front got no better in Monday's morning session.
In the early hours of this morning (Finnish time), Oskari Frösen was eliminated from the high jump competition. He cleared 2.26 with his third attempt, but would have needed to get over 2.29 to secure a place in the final.
A total of 15 athletes achieved this mark, so Wednesday's final will be a crowded affair. Frösen's personal best this season was 2.28, meaning he would have needed that all-important "little bit extra" to progress.
Ilona Ranta went in the women's 400 metres hurdles, but her time of 57.64 put her nearly half a second outside any chance of qualification for the next round of heats. She will join Johanna Manninen, Heidi Hannula, and Sari Keskitalo in the 4 x 100 metres relay team.
Previously in HS International Edition:
Janne Holmén 9th in World Championships marathon (25.8.2007)
Links:
IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Osaka
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 27.8.2007 - TODAY |
Sunday in Osaka provides thin pickings for Finnish athletes
|
|
