Jan Železný and Tero Pitkämäki

Helsinki, Finland - Former World champion Tero Pitkämäki took his last chance to get onto the Finnish Javelin trio for the European Championships in Helsinki by winning the traditional Javelin Carnival competition in Pihtipudas on Sunday with his season best mark of 83.87m.

Pitkämäki had thrown only 78.86m this season and suffered from a bacterial illness. He was in a danger of being dropped from a Finnish squad for an international championships for the first time since 2003.

The Finnish Athletics had promissed to select the winner in Pihtipudas, if his mark would be at least 84.00m. Pitkämäki, the World Champion in 2007, did not quite manage that, but he showed very promising improving shape.

Ari Mannio opened with 81.27m, and Teemu Wirkkala with 81.31m, but Antti Ruuskanen took the lead with 81.72m in the first round. Wirkkala improved to 81.88m in the second and it seemed that Pitkämäki was still in trouble.

The third round changed the direction as Pitkämäki set 80.59m - his first beyond 80 metres in more than a year. Lassi Etelätalo, who throw 84.14m in 2011 before a groin operation, reached 80.66m, but both Wirkkala and Ruuskanen produced fouls in rounds two through five.

In the fifth round Pitkämäki found something from his good old form and produced his winning throw. Mannio´s response was a respectable 83.63m, but the competition was not over, yet. Etelätalo threw 82.98m at his last attempt and took a surprising third place as nobody else improved.

Pitkämäki has been training a lot with his second coach, the World record holder Jan Zelezny, this season. Some things in his training have changed, and the throwing technique had not been clicking until now. Also Pitkämäki´s self confidence seems to be back.

"This was not a perfect throw, but it was really, really fun to produce a decent throw after such a long time," he said. "Finally I have something to smile for! Of course this was a very important victory, but above that I'm happy for my result. After Oslo I did not touch the Javelin for a week.

source: iaaf.org