The monument of Arsi Harju, the Olympic champion from Perho, suffered a lot.
Shot put the 2000 Olympic champion Arsi Harjun The “Ars rinki” built in honor had a hard time last week in the mortar’s hometown in Perho.
The work of art – a roundabout with a giant ball in the middle – was completed in 2004. It is located in the center of Perho along highway 13.
The villagers noticed on Friday that the ball had come loose and the granite edge of the ball ring had been badly broken.
It took quite a bit of force to get the stainless steel ball moving.
The ball has a diameter of 183 centimeters, which is the same as Harju’s length. Artist Seppo Kalliokoski placed it in its original place in the 21.29 meter diameter ball ring in the middle of the roundabout. The measure is the same as Harju’s legendary gold medal throw in 2000.
The Ars rinki artwork had a hard time during Midsummer week.
The curb surrounding the traffic circle was broken.
The granite edge has come off from the force of the collision.
The chairman of the Perho municipal board Matti Louhula suspects that the accident happened on the night between Thursday and Friday.
“A local guy has driven it,” Louhula told Ilta-Sanom.
The speed limit at the roundabout is 40 kilometers per hour. Just a little before the center of the municipality, the speed limit is 100 km/h.
Municipal manager Lauri Laajalan seems to have been driven to the rink at high speed.
“There must have been quite a lot of speed. It hasn’t been done at exactly the speed of a bicycle,” Laajala believes.
The date for the corrective measures has not yet been determined. According to Laajala, who is very upset about what happened, the monument is going to be restored to its former glory on some schedule.
“Yes, of course. It is then the ELY center’s job to fix it.”
“Arsi is an important guy for us. We are proud of him and the fact that he represented Perhon Kiri then. Yes, this is a small-scale desecration. We require that the places be put in order. If necessary, we will do it ourselves.”
Chairman Louhula is concerned about the local traffic culture.
“The little one has left the glove. It’s a shame that these things happen. We were afraid that something like this would happen sooner or later.”
Both Louhula and Laajala emphasized that they are relieved that the person who drove into the roundabout is okay.
Ridge is still the most recent Finnish Olympic champion in athletics. He represented Perhon Kiri throughout his career.
Correction 26.6 at 8:07 p.m.: The name of the chairman of the Perho municipal board is Matti Louhula, not Matti Louhola as it was written earlier in the story.
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