European Team Championships Recap

The European Team Championships is one of my favorite competitions of the year. Switzerland selects one athlete per event to compete against eleven other countries. Each European country is split among four levels. Switizerland is in the second level competition and travelled to Izmir, Turkey to compete in our group of twelve (no one seemed to mind that Izmir was technically located in Asia). Our goal was to maintain our position and after the first day of competition we are well positioned to do just that.

The Setting
The European Team Championships is always one of the highlights of my calendar. Not only do I get a chance to compete against some of the best throwing countries (Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, etc.), but I get a chance to put on the Swiss uniform. For four days, all of the nation’s best athletes spend time together, cheer for each other, and hang out with each other. It reminds me of the annual UW/WSU dual meet I competed in at the University of Washington, just on an ever bigger scale and including free access to massage for the entire weekend.

I also can’t help but comparing this year’s meet to last year’s meet. Last year, we competed in Belgrade amidst thundershowers. As a result of the weather, the hammer throw was delayed (after we warmed up) and the stadium was empty. This year was much better. The weather was over 80º F. I made it on television and the stadium had thousands of energetic spectators…although they really need to select a small stadium for this meet since a large crowd is lost in a 60,000 person stadium.

Competitors
The field is always tough at the European Team Championships. To give you an example, the reigning Olympic champion placed just fourth at this year’s meet. The winner, Krisztián Pars of Hungary, broke 80 meters for the first time this year. And of twelve nations competing, eight of the competitors had personal bests of over 74 meters.

The format is unique at the European Team Championships. Each thrower is given three attempts, with the best four getting qualifying for an extra attempt. So, knowing that I was facing a tough field, I entered the competition knowing that I had to get a good result on my first three attempts. I also knew that two competitions were taking place. Seven throwers had broken 72 meters this year and would be fighting for the finals. The rest of us sat between 60 and 67 meters and would also be having a close battle behind the leaders. My goal was to beat the “rest” so that I could get as many points as possible for Switzerland.

The Competition
As was the case last week, I felt very good in warm ups and was ready to go today. My first attempt was strong, but my hammer clipped the net and it landed at just 61.75m. My second attempt was better. I had plenty of speed, but then I pulled the release and barely stayed in the ring. It measured 64.59m and that was enough to move me ahead of my closest competitors.

I gave it my all on my last attempt. With the closest thrower nearly seven meters ahead of me, I had nothing to lose. Again, I had trouble controlling the release and this time I stepped out of the front. Our team’s head coach estimated that the throw was a few meters beyond my season’s best. But a foul is a foul and I ended the competition with a best of 64.59 to finish in eight place.

The Positives
I competed very well. I entered the competition seeded ninth and I knew my goal: place eight and beat the second tier of competitors. I achieved that. A higher finish wasn’t possible since seventh place was 71.14m. I also learned that I am on the verge of some bigger throws, which makes increases my optimism for this season.

The Negatives
I have been in great shape the past few weeks, but that has been a bit of a surprise for my body this week. I am not used to the speed I have right now and it is making it hard to control my release. I kept most of my throws in, but I was not able to get the most out of my fitness level. I expect to be in peak condition again around the Swiss championships, so I hope I can do a better job of controlling my speed there.

Next Up
Next week I will begin a new program that will aim towards the end of the season in August. I have one more big hammer throw competition in France on June 26th, but after that I will focus on training for a few weeks before putting on the uniform again.