Wilma Murto competes after a break of years without any problems. There have been changes in the master’s environment and coaching. In the summer, he wants to chase an EC medal.
- Murto didn’t even know what height he crossed.
- The star, who has survived hard trials, competes after two years without any problems. It appears as liberation.
- Murto changed town and coach. A lot has also happened in the attitude towards career.
On Saturday, in the SM indoor competition, a freed man was seen Wilma Murto.
Murto won the Finnish pole vault championship. The result was a modest 456 compared to the top level of a SE woman, but the current indoor season for Murro is a new beginning.
For the first time in two years, the European champion is doing well when competing.
– This is really nice. I can appreciate in a different way that I get to do things that are liberated, joyful and inspiring. This is the best stuff in the sports profession. The results are still being tallied, Murto said with a smile.
There was a confusing moment in the race. Even Murto himself was not sure of his second round result.
Murto had asked for a bar of 446 and exceeded it. However, 451 were recorded in the results.
– 451 was a typo. I wondered myself what the result was. I said I had to jump 446. The result service was just as bad as it gets. I said it doesn’t matter if it [rima] stays there.
Change in mind
Murto won the SM gold. ATTE KAJOVA
The last few years have tested Murto right behind the shoulder. Two years ago, he went to the World Indoor Track Championships to chase gold, but missed the final due to an Achilles tendon injury. Suomalaistahtih made it to June’s European Championships in Rome, but the worries did not end.
Murto had to rehabilitate his back track after the Games. Before qualifying for the Olympics, the medalist of the medalist competition only had time to complete five jumps at normal speed in training.
A tough year took its toll. The psychiatrist ordered Murro to take sick leave from the end of 2024. Later, he was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his knee, which was operated on last summer.
Last fall, Murto was without a result at the World Championships in Tokyo. Now he started the hall season and the year finally both mentally and physically well. A big change has taken place in the master’s world of thought.
– Each intact and healthy day is valued differently. I feel less stressed than before. A year ago, I had the conversation that you don’t have to do this profession. I have still chosen this and this is nice. It’s a superpower.
– I don’t think about what if I have to stop. Everything would be fine even if I didn’t jump anymore. Feeling lighter.
Not all athletes have the same light heart.
– I know athletes who are afraid of quitting. Their identity is so in sports. I think I could do it.
To the World Cup?
Murto described feeling confident. ATTE KAJOVA
Murto opened his reign last week in France with a score of 460. The opening of the season was postponed because a stubborn flu kept him away from training for a week.
Murto attempted 470 three times, but the bar fell down each time. A year and a half had passed since jumping at full speed.
– I would like to be more prepared. Incompleteness has to be tolerated when rebuilding show jumping. All race jumps move the situation forward. I’m hungry, but this is fine for now.
Murto crossed 431 and 446 on his second attempt on Saturday. 456 went on the first over. He also tried a height of 466, but the result was three limbos.
– The last competition jump was the tenth jump. Exercise had started four and a half hours earlier. It was a long day, when the competition condition is terribly lacking. Under normal circumstances, I can handle the race well. I also looked at the radar readings to see that there was coagulation.
Murto had planned the increases with the World Indoor Championships in mind. The result limit for the games is 470, but you can also join through the ranking.
Suomalaistahtih had calculated that exceeding 456 would strengthen his place in the ranking. A result of 466 would almost have ensured a place in the World Cup. So there was no sure place in the race car yet.
There is still time to make results until March 8. Murto believes in his WC chances.
– Athletes are leaving ahead of me. I can’t say the exact number, but 1–2 are about to be left out.
Murto will still compete next week. He didn’t know the place.
– I believe that 470 or slightly above would be crisp. It’s a few steps away. I’m not going to threaten to break the Finnish record.
A new environment
Tommi Holttinen (on the left) is involved in Wilma Murro’s coaching. ATTE KAJOVA
Murro’s training patterns have been the talk of the public since the prestigious medalist and long-time coach Jarno Koivunen the cooperation ended in the spring of 2025.
Nowadays, Murro’s technical coach is a pole vaulter Tommi Holttinenwho competes actively himself.
– It’s fun to get used to the idea that he is my coach. We have known each other since we were teenagers and have been friends for a very long time. We work strongly in cooperation. He knows how to be snappy and say that’s all. He knows how to boost in the right places, Murto said and continued:
– He is so enthusiastic and interested, as much of a pole vaulter as can be. The views are quite similar. I am very pleased that Tommi is involved.
There was also a change in Murro’s training amount.
– The brakes are put on me in terms of quantities, but in training the same elements are in a different order.
Murto is having a great time in his new hometown in Helsinki. He lives together with his musician fiancé. Seivstähti has both a sports community and friends in the capital region.
– There is a balanced feeling. There is more to life here than sports. Only my parents are upset that I don’t drive past Salo so often, Murto laughed.
Murro’s engagement made headlines at the Sports Gala in January 2025. Planning a wedding is not yet on the European champion’s mind. At the moment, the eye is on the World Cup halls and the summer European Championships.
– I’m waiting to be able to say that I have a medal goal at the European Championships.
Murto won indoor World Championship bronze and European Championship gold in 2023.
