Pitkämäki was born on 19 December 1982. He is from the rural village of Ahonkylä in Ilmajoki. His interest in the javelin throw began at the age of eight. He was inspired by watching the 1991 World Championships, where Kimmo Kinnunen and Seppo Räty won both gold and silver for Finland. Afterwards, Pitkämäki competed in a youth competition in Koskenkorva (Ilmajoki), where he threw the javelin 22 metres, 10 metres ahead of the runner-up. He regularly practiced throwing at home, once piercing his neighbour's roof.[3]
Careeredit
Pitkämäki finished 8th in the javelin contest at the 2004 Summer Olympics with the result 83.01 m and has since developed into one of the world's leading javelin throwers. As of August 2005, he had thrown 91.53 m, hence he was one of the favorites at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, which were held in his home country. However, he was only fourth with a result of 81.27 m. Pitkämäki took his first medal by placing second at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics.[4]
On Friday 13 July 2007, during the IAAF Golden League meet at Rome's Olimpico Stadium, Tero Pitkämäki threw a javelin too far left and hit French long jumper Salim Sdiri in the side of the back. Sdiri was rushed to a local Rome hospital with non life-threatening injuries.[5]
On 5 August, Pitkämäki won his 4th Finnish championship in a row with a throw of 89.43 meters. In the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan, Pitkämäki secured gold medal in men's javelin with a throw of 89.16 meters. With his last throw in the competition, he bettered his final result to 90.33 meters.[6]
On 5 October 2007, Tero Pitkämäki was honored with the European Athlete of the Year title by the EEA. His 11 wins over the season, including the World Champion title, Golden League in Oslo and Paris, and his season best, also best in Europe, 91.23 meter throw, were the factors for choosing him.[7] In December, Pitkämäki was voted Finnish Sportsman of the Year by the members of the Finnish Sport Journalists Association, beating women's triple world cross-country skiing champion Virpi Kuitunen and Formula One world champion Kimi Räikkönen.[8]
In September 2015, Pitkämäki received his first title from the Diamond League.[9]
Pitkämäki announced his retirement from competition on 14 October 2019. He had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in June 2018 and began rehabilitation in August of that year. He recovered from the injury and did not experience pain during practice, but felt that the functionality of the knee had reduced significantly. He said his throws in summer 2019 were around 75 m, and that he did not believe he was capable of being competitive at the 2019 World Athletics Championships. Pitkämäki had planned to finish his career at the 2020 Summer Olympics, but brought his retirement forward. He stated at his retirement news conference: "When it became clear to me that I was no longer in the condition I wanted to be in and that I would no longer get there, my enthusiasm and motivation for the sport dried up. That is the biggest reason for the decision."[10]
^Athlete profile for Tero Pitkamaki. iaaf.org. Retrieved on 28 May 2015.
^Mäkelä, Juho (26 September 2020). "Tero Pitkämäki innostui keihäänheittoon Tokion 1991 kaksoisvoiton ansiosta – nuorille kivien ja lumipallojenkin heittely on tärkeää, mestari korostaa". Maaseudun Tulevaisuus (in Finnish).
^. Helsingin Sanomat. Archived from the original on 7 December 2006. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
^"Accident overshadows Powell show". BBC. 13 July 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
^. Guardian Unlimited. London. Archived from the original on 5 September 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
Tero Pitkämäki at Tilastopaja(registration required)
November 26, 2023
tero, pitkämäki, tero, kristian, pitkämäki, born, december, 1982, finnish, retired, track, field, athlete, competed, javelin, throw, world, champion, having, gold, 2007, personal, best, throw, 2005, ranks, eleventh, overall, list, 2014personal, informationborn. Tero Kristian Pitkamaki born 19 December 1982 is a Finnish retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw He is a World Champion having won gold in 2007 His personal best throw of 91 53 m set in 2005 ranks him eleventh on the overall list 1 2 Tero PitkamakiTero Pitkamaki in 2014Personal informationBorn 1982 12 19 19 December 1982 age 40 Ilmajoki FinlandHeight1 95 m 6 ft 5 in Weight92 kg 203 lb SportCountry FinlandSportTrack and fieldEvent s Javelin throwClubNurmon Urheilijat 1 Achievements and titlesPersonal best s 91 53 m 2005 Medal record Men s athleticsRepresenting FinlandEvent 1st 2nd 3rdOlympic Games 0 0 1World Championships 1 1 1European Championships 0 1 2Total 1 2 4Olympic Games2008 Beijing JavelinWorld Championships2007 Osaka Javelin2013 Moscow Javelin2015 Beijing JavelinEuropean Championships2006 Gothenburg Javelin2010 Barcelona Javelin2014 Zurich Javelin Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Seasonal bests 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editPitkamaki was born on 19 December 1982 He is from the rural village of Ahonkyla in Ilmajoki His interest in the javelin throw began at the age of eight He was inspired by watching the 1991 World Championships where Kimmo Kinnunen and Seppo Raty won both gold and silver for Finland Afterwards Pitkamaki competed in a youth competition in Koskenkorva Ilmajoki where he threw the javelin 22 metres 10 metres ahead of the runner up He regularly practiced throwing at home once piercing his neighbour s roof 3 Career editPitkamaki finished 8th in the javelin contest at the 2004 Summer Olympics with the result 83 01 m and has since developed into one of the world s leading javelin throwers As of August 2005 he had thrown 91 53 m hence he was one of the favorites at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics which were held in his home country However he was only fourth with a result of 81 27 m Pitkamaki took his first medal by placing second at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics 4 On Friday 13 July 2007 during the IAAF Golden League meet at Rome s Olimpico Stadium Tero Pitkamaki threw a javelin too far left and hit French long jumper Salim Sdiri in the side of the back Sdiri was rushed to a local Rome hospital with non life threatening injuries 5 On 5 August Pitkamaki won his 4th Finnish championship in a row with a throw of 89 43 meters In the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka Japan Pitkamaki secured gold medal in men s javelin with a throw of 89 16 meters With his last throw in the competition he bettered his final result to 90 33 meters 6 On 5 October 2007 Tero Pitkamaki was honored with the European Athlete of the Year title by the EEA His 11 wins over the season including the World Champion title Golden League in Oslo and Paris and his season best also best in Europe 91 23 meter throw were the factors for choosing him 7 In December Pitkamaki was voted Finnish Sportsman of the Year by the members of the Finnish Sport Journalists Association beating women s triple world cross country skiing champion Virpi Kuitunen and Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen 8 In September 2015 Pitkamaki received his first title from the Diamond League 9 Pitkamaki announced his retirement from competition on 14 October 2019 He had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in June 2018 and began rehabilitation in August of that year He recovered from the injury and did not experience pain during practice but felt that the functionality of the knee had reduced significantly He said his throws in summer 2019 were around 75 m and that he did not believe he was capable of being competitive at the 2019 World Athletics Championships Pitkamaki had planned to finish his career at the 2020 Summer Olympics but brought his retirement forward He stated at his retirement news conference When it became clear to me that I was no longer in the condition I wanted to be in and that I would no longer get there my enthusiasm and motivation for the sport dried up That is the biggest reason for the decision 10 Seasonal bests edit nbsp Pitkamaki in 2015Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues 1999 66 83 2000 73 75 2001 74 89 2002 77 24 2003 80 45 2004 84 64 2005 91 53 2006 91 11 2007 91 23 2008 87 70 2009 87 79 2010 86 92 2011 85 33 2012 86 98 2013 89 03 2014 86 63 2015 89 09 2016 86 13 2017 88 27 2018 82 64References edit a b Tero Pitkamaki sports reference com Athlete profile for Tero Pitkamaki iaaf org Retrieved on 28 May 2015 Makela Juho 26 September 2020 Tero Pitkamaki innostui keihaanheittoon Tokion 1991 kaksoisvoiton ansiosta nuorille kivien ja lumipallojenkin heittely on tarkeaa mestari korostaa Maaseudun Tulevaisuus in Finnish Tero Pitkamaki wins javelin silver in Gothenburg Helsingin Sanomat Archived from the original on 7 December 2006 Retrieved 5 September 2007 Accident overshadows Powell show BBC 13 July 2007 Retrieved 5 September 2007 Finn Pitkamaki goes big to claim javelin gold Guardian Unlimited London Archived from the original on 5 September 2007 Retrieved 5 September 2007 24 year old Tero Pitkamaki wins the Waterford Crystal European Athlete of the Year 2007 European Athletic Association Archived from the original on 17 October 2007 Retrieved 5 October 2007 F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen beaten by Pitkamaki in race for annual sports award IAAF 19 December 2007 Retrieved 17 December 2015 Diamond Race Standings PDF IAAF 11 September 2015 Archived from the original PDF on 12 January 2016 Retrieved 17 December 2015 Finnish javelin champion Tero Pitkamaki calls it quits YleExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tero Pitkamaki Official website Tero Pitkamaki at World Athletics nbsp Tero Pitkamaki at Tilastopaja registration required Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tero Pitkamaki amp oldid 1184010809, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
