Venla Pulkkanen finished fourth in the European Championships after some difficult times.
Venla Pulkkanen posted readings close to his record. Kimmo brandt / aop
A high jumper Venla Pulkanen stretched to a hard performance in Espoo’s under-23 EC final.
Pulkanen missed his record with a score of 187, and that was enough for a shared fourth place. Polish Wiktoria Miaso took bronze with the same result but fewer falls.
Pulkkanen’s development this summer has been incredible. He has improved his record by no less than nine centimeters. Therefore, success on the European Championship stage seemed surprising to the Finn.
– I didn’t expect anything like this. I think I set a goal of 183 in the summer. I don’t know where I got that from. But this is amazing, that I can compete at this level, Pulkkanen said.
– Before this summer, a medal wasn’t really (a goal), but I knew I could compete for it here.
The coach died
Jumper promise has experienced difficult times in recent years, when his coach Timo Joronen passed away in the summer of 2021.
A new coach Seppo Haaviston with the help, Pulkkanen started building a new project. The starting situation was difficult.
– After all, that’s where it started. There was an injury, and the previous coach passed away, so it was kind of a fresh start with everything.
The fourth place in the European Championship shows a job well done, even if Pulkka was not completely satisfied with the ranking.
– Of course fourth place is fourth place. It’s a bit sad when it’s fresh, but I’d say it was still a success. I am proud of.