Finnish records hit high as FSI awarded the best athletes in the Finnish-Swedish sports year 2022. Viivi Lehikoinen, European Championship finalist and Finnish record holder in the 400 meter hurdles, and her coach Mikael Ylöstalo both received awards.
Finnish record in the WC – new Finnish record in the EC.
That performance was hard to beat as Finland’s Swedish Sports Association (FSI) awarded the year’s best performances on Friday. Viivi Lehikoinen from Helsinki IFK received the achievement medal in 2022.
– It’s said that you get hungrier the more you eat, says Lehikoinen in Det finlandssvenska drottsår – the program that replaces the former Finnish-Swedish sports gala and which was broadcast on Yle Fem on Friday.
– Last year was very important for me, especially after all the hard years. After all, this was what you had been working on, to be able to perform at your peak as it means the most in major competitions. Some days I had time to consider whether it is even worth continuing to bet. Now I got to experience things I only dreamed about.
What was the highlight of the year for you?
– The EC final, without a doubt. All my dreams were summarized there. Last summer was also one when I could actually enjoy all the big moments, says Lehikoinen about the competition where she reached the record 54.50 in the semi-finals.
Coach Mikael Ylöstalo has also noticed a clear change in Lehikoinen’s attitude:
– She is very analytical and thinks a lot about how different things go together. When we reviewed the training plan a few years ago, she was unsure and it showed. That uncertainty is as if blown away now. She is happy and positive in training, which has not always been the case, he says.
Mikael Ylöstalo is also known as Yle Sport’s athletics expert.
Image: Yle/Sebastian Backman
athletics, Mikael Ylöstalo
Lehikoinen was not the only one of Ylöstalo’s adepts to perform at his peak in the summer of 2022. Samuli Samuelsson set a new Finnish record in the 100 meters. And Ylöstalo was awarded the coach of the year award.
– Is it rewarding to be a coach? It is impossible for me to answer. This is a lifestyle for me, says Ylöstalo.
Samuli Samuelsson, in turn, says that Ylöstalo as a coach is very calm and communicative.
– And he is among the best there is when it comes to technical training. He is without equal. He impressed me immediately when I moved here. He always keeps his cool and can give feedback in a constructive way, says Samuelsson.
“Stubborn” Malin Karell received the youth prize
There were three promising Finnish-Swedish juniors who competed for FSI’s youth prize: javelin thrower Malin Karell, shooter Alexandra Rosenlew and Finland’s future hope in Nordic combination Alva Thors.
Of them, it was Karell from Sjundeå IF who received the main prize, while the other two shared second place. During the summer, Karell won gold in the U18-FM and placed fourth in the U18-EC in Jerusalem.
The year’s best of 56.42 with a 500-gram javelin is first in the world in the age group.
Malin Karell says that the big goal of her career right now is the Olympics in Brisbane in 2032.
Image: Linus Westerlund / Yle
athletics, track and field athletes, javelin throw, women’s javelin throw, javelin thrower, Sjundeå IF, Kyrkslätt, Sjundeå
– During the year, I have learned to manage my competition nerves much better. In Jerusalem I was very nervous before the final, and it also showed in the result. But before the FM final I decided to throw long and did it. The fact that it was in the penultimate round that I got to do it was even nicer, she says.
– She is quite stubborn, but so are all of us in the family. She has good technique and makes it work along with all the other traits. A good throwing arm, quite simply, sums up father and coach Marcus Karell.
IK Falken association of the year – the profile pays tribute to the spirit of talk
This year’s association is in turn found in Pedersöre. IK Falken receives the award not least for having arranged several successful competitions and for offering free activities to its members.
– This feels good. Very good. This is recognition for all active, officials, leaders and coaches in the association. We must have done something right, says chairman Greger Forsblom.
Happy IK Falken juniors. Archive image.
Image: SUL / Anssi Mäkinen
IK Falken
Being able to offer free activities is something that is possible partly thanks to successful Ärevarv, but above all the spirit of talk within the association. Ski pro Tage Ray is still an active talkie worker – something he wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
Not even when you can jump in at 3 in the morning after a dance.
– It’s not always as fun, but it’s the talk culture that keeps the association going. We are very grateful for that. Actually, the talco work means everything, he says.
See The Finnish-Swedish sports year 2022 here!
