Three-jumper Senni Salminen says he could not handle the expectations after the top results last season.
On Monday, Senni Salminen visited the landscape of the Pajulahti Sports College in Nastola, Lahti. Jussi Saarinen
First came the poor-than-expected result of 14.20, then flew the tail ends and finally the tear ducts opened.
Triple jumper Senni Salmisen Qualifying for the final of the Tokyo Olympics last August was one of the most dramatic Finnish events in the five-ring Games.
– Before the summer, there was no pressure and my dream was to go to the Olympics. Then there was the Tokyo Medal Hope, so the head didn’t last, Salminen, 26, says now.
It’s an exceptionally honest speech for a top athlete.
– That was what the head betrayed. I felt in Tokyo that my head could not stand this situation. I had forged 14.50 jumps during the summer and am usually a good competitor, so why wouldn’t that medal have been possible. But at that point in Tokyo, I didn’t believe it, Salminen commented.
The best performance of a Finn last season was 14.63. In Japan, the medals were won with hard results of 15.67, 15.01 and 14.87.
Psychotherapy help
Salminen’s jump-born SE of last season is 14.63. Jussi Saarinen
Immediately after last season, Salminen decided that a state of fear like Tokyo should not come in the future.
– The first step is to admit it to yourself. Then it’s easy to go exploring, opening and solving.
In 2019, Salminen became ill with depression. She spoke about it in public last year and said she attends psychotherapy regularly.
– I’m still in psychotherapy. The events of the last late season have always been the main theme. It has really got a lot of tools out there. I haven’t experienced the need for a mental coach in addition to that.
The jumper seems very relaxed during the 2022 race season.
– Everything is really good and the feeling is right. Pleasure is the most important of all when it came to squeezing towards the end of last summer.
Medal in mind
The Finn says that the second leap is the biggest development target for performance. Roni Lehti
Salminen is one of the few Finnish athletes who can be called a medal candidate, especially at the European Championship level.
– After last summer, I was the third in the European statistics. If medal goals were not set for the European Championships, it would be an underestimation of oneself.
Technically, the biggest challenge is the second leap.
– Ham comes very naturally and is a strength. In the second leap, it is often the habit that I just let it go and I am not active. It might start waving. In Romania, for example, it had a bad run last summer, but still went 14.63. When they get out, there will be more measurement.
Women’s jumping ME athlete Yolimar Rojas is usually in its own series. The Venezuelan ME’s score of 15.67 was born in Tokyo. The second most advanced of the active jumpers has been stretched by a Kazakh veteran Olga Rypakova (15.25).
– I never thought he was in his own series and I would compete against others. In fact, last season I was a little oppressed in vainly researching what others were doing.
Body fit
Salminen missed the World Cup halls in the winter due to a minor injury, but now the body is fine. The outdoor track competition season starts on Wednesday at the Lahti GP.
– Not excited yet. Originally, the plan was to open the season at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku. But it was considered that there is a nice competition in Lahti, so why not.
What kind of performance are you happy with at the ski stadium?
– There is no European Championship limit yet, so it would be nice to take it away.
The Munich earnings threshold is 14.25.