Topi Raitanen has rehabilitated his broken ankle. The season may start in July, but the fate of the European Championship is open.
Topi Raitanen changes his running technique. PASI LEISMA
Endurance runner Raitanen’s top participation in the summer European Athletics Championships is uncertain. Raitanen tells about it in the press release of the Finnish Sports Confederation (SUL).
The reason is the long-lasting ankle problem of the three-ton steeplechase European champion. The health problem goes back to a race in Marseille last year, where Raitanen failed to get down from the barrier.
A precursor of a fresh navicular stress fracture was found in the ankle, which began to be rehabilitated. In October of last year, a fracture was diagnosed in the leg.
That’s when Raitanen’s leg was ordered to rest.
– In mid-January, I was able to start walking and jogging. Since then, this has been a constant monitoring of symptoms and running stroke. How the foot reacts, what is too much and what is too little. There have been no big setbacks, Raitanen says in the press release.
Raitanen has now been able to do speed endurance and a few effective exercises. The hurdler has also been able to try track training with spikes on his feet a couple of times.
If everything goes according to plan, the European Championship gold medalist will start her competition season in July with middle distances.
– It is realistic that in early July I would be able to compete in the shortest distances, i.e. 800 and 1,500 meters. Then there will be more competitions during July and August.
Raitanen can’t say yet about the steeplechase or the European Championships starting on August 10.
– You have to go on the terms of the ankle. Basically, after the first 800 and 1,500 meter races, there should be no reaction in the ankle. Only then do you dare to sign up for the obstacle course. There will be a lot of shaking on the leg. Don’t rush it, but don’t throw the ax into the well either.
New technology
Topi Raitanen won the 2022 European Championship. PASI LEISMA
Raitanen last competed in February 2025, when he participated in a five kilometer road race. The runner admits that the rehabilitation has been demanding.
He still wants to return to the Games.
– It would have been easier to give up in the fall and move on to the next stage of life, but the hunger inside is still strong. I want to rehabilitate the leg and see what it can still do, Raitanen says.
– Now that the root causes of the problem have been addressed, the outlook for the future is much brighter than, say, a year ago at this time.
Raitanen and his team found out what caused the problems. The European champion needs to change his running technique.
The change is related to the position of the ankle and how the foot hits the ground.
– It’s about being able to keep the leg wide enough, so to speak, when it hits the ground. You have to wrestle with that, Raitanen says.
With the change in technology, the alignment of the ankle can be made to work even better.
– When I can keep the foot open and the front part of the ankle relaxed, I get elasticity and power through the ankle for running. It is a block that has been gradually restored, but still requires work and repetitions at a faster pace, Raitanen says.
The European Championships in Athletics will be held in Birmingham from the 10th to the 16th. August.
