Kristiina Mäkelä opens up about the background of her publication

Triple Jumper Kristiina Mäkelä on his Instagram account on Saturday of last week highlighted a problem that can be seen especially in value competitions.

Mäkelä published a picture taken of him, where the camera had filmed his intermediate jump from the bottom.

– How is it possible that the race organizer allows the cameras to be set up to film the intermediate jump of the triple jump, where every athlete has their legs open and the lens focuses only on one place? And the mainstream media still publishes these pictures, Mäkelä wrote.

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Mäkelä has received a lot of positive feedback for his publication. People have agreed with him.

– Such a place where you shoot with cameras – that layout does not belong in top sports and value competitions. When you know what kind of material comes out of there, I don’t think it’s right, and we athletes have no control over the context in which those images are used.

– There are fewer of us triple jumpers, and clearly not all of us mind the fact that such pictures are taken, but in my opinion it is not ok.

Mäkelä raised the issue for the first time already at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. At that time, cameras were placed on the runners’ starting stands.

The cameras filmed the intimate areas of the athletes preparing for the run.

– I was then that we also have them at the triple jump site.

In Eugene, he did not remember the cameras.

Mäkelä emphasizes that the athlete does not focus on the cameras, but on the best possible performance.

– This only came to mind when I saw this picture and I thought: is this really okay, Do I just silently accept that these kinds of pictures are just taken. If I do that, I know that all future athletes will have these pictures taken.

– When you see such a picture of yourself, you think: help, I would never choose such a picture myself. When you look at the second picture I shared, you can see what that reality is. There is a camera right under your feet, a meter or two away. If my jump had been a little more on the right side of the track, it wouldn’t show any upper body at all.

Not against photographers

Mäkelä emphasizes that he does not want to be against the cameramen or start bullying anyone. He says he understands what the photographers are looking for by taking pictures of the defect site.

– But still, if there was a young girl in that picture or one of my fans took the model and thought they wanted a similar picture of themselves – I don’t want to represent it. It’s very much self-preservation.

– You have to be very observant. It would be wonderful if everyone could only see a beautiful picture in it, and there would be no slight effects. We athletes have to endure those mild phenomena. If the media spreads that kind of material, it’s just not right.

The mild phenomena mentioned by Mäkelä can, for example, be comments on social media.

– I would have good examples of what all this can cause, but I don’t want to reveal them. It is also a provocative image in a certain way. Yes, it affects in many ways.

– He can handle all that in his career, but I wouldn’t want this (angle) to be taken for granted. It’s not really right and fair.

Mäkelä is of the opinion that the scene of the defection would have been as aerial as a side profile shot.

The manager of the Finnish department of the photo agency All Over Press thinks the same Timo Lampinen For Iltalehti on Monday.

– That is certainly not the only option. You can try something new and special with good taste, but that was not the case. I wouldn’t want anyone else to end up in the same situation, Mäkelä says.

– Just as if it should be acceptable that in that situation you can take a picture from any angle in top sports and prestigious competitions.

Not today

With his publication, Mäkelä wanted to show that filming from that place is not correct.

The pictures taken from that angle are not from today.

– The athlete is there as a complete person and there they have to move in positions that get really ugly pictures and completely wrong ones. Blinking can make you look drunk. There has to be an exact limit, and I think that exceeded the 2022 limit.

He points out that the photographer, the photo agency, and the media are responsible for the photos taken from below, which chooses which photos to use.

Not just anyone who takes pictures gets into the prize contest. Organizations accept different photo locations.

– There are many people out there who should definitely think, Did this go all right. This is such a whole that quite a few parties could wonder how such a situation could happen.

Mäkelä says that the Instagram update was not for him, but for the future. He hopes that future athletes don’t have to think the same way as him.

– If it affects even at the level of Finland, that’s great. However, this situation has passed, and nothing can be done about it. But it would be hoped that in the future the athletes would not have to do that.