2009 Golden Gala mJT (Andreas Thorkildsen 87.46)

[LopenUupunut]

After almost two rounds:
1 PITKÄMÄKI, Tero FIN 83.68 83.68
2 THORKILDSEN, Andreas NOR 82.28 82.28
3 VASILEVSKIS, Vadims LAT 77.31 81.70 81.70
4 PYATNYTSYA, Oleksandr UKR 77.78 78.84 78.84
5 FRANK, Mark GER 73.51 78.16 78.16
6 RAGS, Eriks LAT x 74.75 74.75
7 VIEWEG, Alexander GER 72.65 69.44 72.65
8 HILL, Chris USA 67.17 x 67.17
HAZLE, Mike USA x x NM

Nice to see Pyatnytsya get a major opportunity. But why does everybody keep inviting Hazle?

[gh]

link to the live results

http://www.goldengala.it/result2009/re0880040.html

[LopenUupunut]

Thorkildsen 87.46 in last round! And he's probably not 100% healthy right now...

[Flumpy]

Damn!!!

I would have to pick them the wrong way round. Thorky in Olso, Tero in Rome

[LopenUupunut]

1 THORKILDSEN, Andreas NOR 82.28 83.50 x 79.17 x 87.46 87.46
2 PITKÄMÄKI, Tero FIN 83.68 80.46 78.35 81.53 x x 83.68
3 FRANK, Mark GER 73.51 78.16 78.13 78.02 76.38 82.75 82.75
4 VASILEVSKIS, Vadims LAT 77.31 81.70 77.77 79.79 78.33 79.50 81.70
5 PYATNYTSYA, Oleksandr UKR 77.78 78.84 79.53 80.33 x 80.43 80.43
6 HAZLE, Mike USA x x 73.38 75.47 76.91 75.04 76.91
7 RAGS, Eriks LAT x 74.75 73.72 x x x 74.75
8 VIEWEG, Alexander GER 72.65 69.44 x 70.70 x 72.98 72.98
9 HILL, Chris USA 67.17 x x 67.17

Pitkämäki out of the jackpot chase... Both Frank and Pyatnytsya turned in a yet-another-solid-performance. Really weak comp behind the top 5 though...

Edit: New feature for this message board exclusively! LopenUupunut's mJavelin Very Nearly Live Formcharts, sneakily added with an edit a couple days after the actual competition to incite a minimum of criticism.

July 10, 2009

1. Andreas Thorkildsen (Norway)
2. Tero Pitkämäki (Finland)
3. Ainars Kovals (Latvia)
4. Teemu Wirkkala (Finland)
5. Vadims Vasilevskis (Latvia)
6. Mark Frank (Germany)
7. Ari Mannio (Finland)
8. Igor Janik (Poland)
9. Guillermo Martínez (Cuba)
10. Oleksandr Pyatnytsya (Ukraine)
11. Tero Järvenpää (Finland)
12. Tom Goyvaerts (Belgium)

[Per Andersen]

Thorkildsen 87.46 in last round! And he's probably not 100% healthy right now...

No, but the groin is getting much better. It's on his mind though and he does not feel his technique is very stable.
He definitely looked much better than he did in Oslo, maybe he looks a bit too controlled.
How do you rate Pitkamaki's technique right now?

[LopenUupunut]

How do you rate Pitkamaki's technique right now?

As not very good. He's not scraping skies anymore but somehow he doesn't get enough energy behind the javelin. Someone much more competent than me suggested early in the season this was because there was too much sideways movement in the final phase of his throws, but he's always had plenty so I'm not very sure that's the problem... (But notice how there's absolutely no sideways movement at all in any phase of Thorkildsen's throws! Of course, his technique is fundamentally different, but still.) I'd guess the problem is somehow related to an effort to protect his nose at the end...