Saara Keskitalo ran new records in 100 and 200 meters.
Last week, Saara Keskitalo ran a new Finnish record in speed hurdles. Tomi Natri / All Over Press
Saara Keskitalo, who ran the Finnish record for high hurdles last week, was seen on Monday at the Lival-Games organized in Sipoo’s Nikkilä. Keskitalo switched the hurdles to a smooth surface for the event as he ran in the 100 and 200 meter events.
Keskitalo stopped the clock on both trips to new record readings. The 100m time of 11.63 meant an improvement of one hundredth on his previous record set last year, while in the 200m the new record time of 23.86 shaved 39 hundredths off the previous best. Keskitalo ran his previous record of 200 meters three years ago.
He won both races. The margin of victory in the 100 meters was almost three tenths of a second, and in the 200 meters the difference to the runner-up Jonna Aalto was 34 hundredths.
Aituri’s coach Mikael Ylöstalo states that the races on the flat were, as planned, training runs for hurdles.
– There were good runs, records on both trips. You have to be satisfied, Ylöstalo commented on the performance of his protégé.
– I expected that Saara would have stiffened at 200 meters, but she came all the way to the end. Under 24 seconds was a small surprise, he continued.
Last week, Keskitalo ran a new Finnish speed fence record of 12.64. He will be seen on the track next time at the Motonet GP in Kuortanene, which will be organized on Saturday.