Changes are happening in Oliver Helander’s career.
Oliver Helander changes club. Jenni Gästgivar
EC medalist in javelin Oliver Helander28, changes club. Helander will represent Mikkeli Kilpa-Veikki starting next season.
The matter is confirmed to Iltalehti by the chairman of Mikkelin Kilpa-Veikkou Juha Putkonen. He was the first to tell about the club transfer West Savo.
– Such a happy thing happened to us. We are very pleased that Oliver wanted to come to Kilpa-Veikko next summer, Putkonen tells IL.
Born in Karja, Helander represented IF Raseborg in the season that ended. According to Putkonen, the initiative for the transfer came from the spearhead.
– This started from Oliver’s direction. He made contact after mid-November when the transfer window was closing at the end of November. We have been excited. This has raised the mood in the club.
Mikkeli is already familiar to Helander, as he has twice participated in the athletics event Mikkeli Games. The event is organized by Kilpa-Veikkou’s vice president Jari Liukkonen.
Liukkonen is an ex-javelin star, Tero Pitkämäki and Antti Ruuskanen of the forest management company PitkämäkiBoard member of &Ruuskanen Forest Oy. Pitkämäki, on the other hand, coached Helander until the end of the 2024 season.
– Maybe there have been links to Oliver from there. Oliver has also stated that Mikkeli Games is a great thing, and things are done well, Putkonen reflects.
Kilpa-Veikot is known more as a breeding club than as a major athletics club. Next summer, it has the opportunity to have two athletes in prestigious competitions, because in addition to Helander, MKV is also represented Jessica Kähärä.
– Representative athletes are great role models for juniors. This [Helanderin valinta] is an indication to us that we have succeeded in something. We need more of these, but don’t get greedy, says Putkonen.
This is what Helander reasoned
Helander also changed his coach. PASI LEISMA
In his career, Helander has also represented Oulun Pyrintö and Karis IK.
– After the season, I thought that I wanted to represent a club that values top sports, and in my opinion, that is being done in Mikkeli, Helander said to Länsi-Savo and continued:
– Mikkeli Games has done a really good job. I would say that it is the best athletics event in Finland after the Paavo Nurmi Games. I’ve gotten a really good impression of Mikkeli anyway.
Helander also changed his coach in the fall. In the future, he will be coached by an Estonian WC and EC medalist Magnus Kirt. The Finn trains for two weeks at a time in Tallinn and two weeks independently at home.
The best result of Helander’s career is a throw of 89.93 in the summer of 2022. The EC bronze came from Rome in the summer of 2024. In this season’s World Championships, the Finn missed the qualification.