Elisa Neuvonen was satisfied with her performance at the European Championships.
Elisa Neuvonen was tenth in Munich. Picture from July’s World Cup. EPA/AOP
Finland Elisa Neuvonen walked tenth in the women’s 35 km European Championship on Tuesday. The difference to the top was 12 minutes.
Neuvonen gained several places towards the end of the race, when the racing sisters started to freeze. The time of 2:59.00 pales to Neuvonen’s record by more than a minute.
– My own pace also froze, but others froze more. Eighth place, i.e. the points leader, was not far behind. I could have gotten there with my own record, he said.
At the beginning, Neuvonen was close to his World Championship pace. As the summer morning changed to sunshine, the tempo slowed down.
– The end was tough when the heat started to feel. I did everything I could. Before this season, I didn’t even think about the World Championships or that I would get into the top ten at the European Championships. The uppermost feeling is satisfied.
The Finnish walker’s preparation for the race was rigorous. He competed in the 10 kilometers of the Kaleva Games in the first week of August and won the SM silver.
After that, an upper respiratory tract infection struck, which naturally affected training.
– Fortunately, not very much, and nothing worse happened.
Neuvonen thought a lot in advance whether it makes sense to participate in the Kaleva Games. In Munich, the decision felt right.
– Before the Kaleva Games, the training heart rates were high. After the Games, they normalized to the level before the World Cup. I feel that the recovery progressed after the Kaleva Games.
Lung capacity
Elisa Neuvonen is a doctor of medicine. PASI LEISMA
After the EC walk, Neuvonen’s legs ached.
Tired legs before the rest of the body is a problem that Finnish athletes would like to change.
– It seems that there is capacity. The respiratory and circulatory systems don’t get that hard, because the legs are the first to give way.
– You should get strength in your legs. I would go even harder.
At the end of the race, the temperature in Munich’s old town was around 26 degrees. The sun was shining brightly.
Neuvonen didn’t think the weather was too bad. We set off at 8:30, so the start of the race took place in cool conditions.
– The race could have started a couple of hours earlier, so that it would have been cooler for longer. In the future, the races will certainly be more early in the morning or late at night. Another good reason to fight climate change.
The women’s race was won by Greece Antigone Ntrismpioti. of Spain Raquel Gonzalez was another, Hungarian Viktoria Madarasz third.