Athletics | Sara Lappalainen ripped in the final straight and gave quite a promise of her condition

Vaasa

Kaleva Games Friday’s most exciting shot was seen in the women’s 1,500 meters, from which Sara Lappalainen grabbed the 15th SM gold of his career.

The seventh Finnish championship of 1,500 meters came with a new competition record of 4:06.93.

He excelled in the 5,000 meters of the European Championships and took fifth place there Nathalie Blomqvist started the run bravely and led the race all the way to the end, before Lappalainen and ran in second place Kristina Mäki pressed the gas to the bottom.

Blomqvist commented to the media already before Friday that he is not going to go jogging, but wants to run hard from the start.

Lappalainen was satisfied with the tactics of his rival sister.

“It wouldn’t have made any sense for me to pull,” he commented after the race.

Although The Lappa resident has managed to accumulate quite a pile of WC medals already, the Finnish championship won on Friday night in Vaasa is also of great importance to the Porvoo resident.

“Kaleva’s competitions always ignite.”

The importance of the titles has been increased by the fact that they have not come easily in recent years. Lappalainen was in good shape in 2021. That’s when he set new Finnish records at 800 and 1,500 meters.

Last summer, he was troubled by health concerns, and Lappalainen was not seen on the race track before the Kaleva Games held in Lahti at the end of July. He arrived there in style and grabbed yet another championship at 1,500 meters.

Even then, Mäki and Blomqvist were involved in the medal fight together Ilona Mononen with, who was not seen in Friday’s 1,500 meters.

Now Lappalainen says that he is again in condition to produce results in 2021.

“Quite clearly,” he assured.

So the situation sounds good on the eve of the Paris Olympics, which Lappalainen will probably qualify for thanks to his ranking result.

23 years old Blomqvist and 20-year-old Mononen are significantly younger than Lappalai, 32.

Konkari says that he is just happy that he has got young challengers on the track.

“It’s really sweet. I’ve been waiting so long for there to be competitions like this,” Lappalainen beamed.

Mäki, who ran to second place, is Lappalainen’s peer and friend from years ago, but Lappalainen has also had time to get to know younger runners in recent years. He describes the atmosphere between the runners as good, even though we are in a real mood on the track.

“Of course, competitive situations always create a slightly different chemistry for it [ystävyys- tai kaverisuhteeseen]it is clear.”

Ramble on the line is Blomqvist, who says that he received support from more experienced Finns in value races and other tight spots.

“You always get support from everyone, and it’s much cooler to do this together than alone. When you train together, you get a good boost and motivation.”

Although only third place came out of Friday’s competition, Blomqvist was satisfied with his tactics.

“I did as well as I could. I tried to get the others to freeze and it took quite a long time before the others passed.”

“It’s hard to say that if the pace had been slower along the way, whether the positions at the end would have been different.”

Although Blomqvist was satisfied with his run, he admitted that the third place was disappointing. He will be chasing gold again in the 5,000m race on Sunday.

Blomqvist double medals were celebrated at home on Friday, because her boyfriend too Mustafa Muuse won the SM medal at 1,500 meters. It was silver in color.

On the men’s side, it took gold Joonas Rinne with a time of 3:39,32.

Evening newspaper said earlier on Friday that Blomqvist and Muuse, who have been dating for half a year, have moved into a shared home in Vaasa.