Aleksi Ojala, who set the Finnish record for walking in Eugene, has a muscle injury in his hind thigh.
Aleksi Ojala set a Finnish record at the World Championships. PASI LEISMA
A great walker Aleksi Ojala is injured just a couple of weeks before the European Championships in Munich.
A muscle injury and fluid accumulation were found in Ojala’s right leg’s hind thigh after the World Championships in Eugene.
– After returning from Eugene, I went to exercise the next day and my leg cramped. I had an MRI and they found a muscle injury and fluid retention. Now you can only do rehabilitative training at first, so you have to skip the Kaleva competitions, says Ojala in SUL’s press release.
– It’s sad because I would have liked to defend the 20 kilometer championship. However, now we have to think about the European Championships.
Ojala participated in the 20- and 35-kilometer walks at the World Championships. He clocked a new Finnish record of 2:28.22 on a longer distance.
Thirteenth place was Ojala’s best quote from the value competition. At 20 kilometers, the Finn was twentieth.
Despite the injury, the walker is not worried about the European Championships in Munich starting on August 15.
– We have two weeks to go and the condition is good based on the World Cup. It won’t disappear in two weeks.
Ojala competes in a 35-kilometer walk in Munich. It will be on the program on Tuesday, August 16.
At the Kaleva Games, only three men are competing for the 20 km SC medals: Joni Hava, Jarkko Määttänen and Jerry Jokinen.