Paavo Nurmi Games: Flash Quotes 17.6.2025
Javelin Throw / Julius Yego, KEN – 1st 83.08 SB
The rhythm is not that perfect, I try to get it back but I am happy with the result, a new season best. I am progressing in the good direction, the main focus are the World Championships. I have competed in Lahti last week and every time I compete here in Finland something changes, I get that fire back. I remember 13 years ago, I was in Finland for my first training session outside of Kenya. I was there again last week, did well again. Whenever I come to Finland to train my season ends well. When I was younger I watched all the videos of the Finnish javelin throwers, they are real role models for me and they really helped me get where I am now. Tomorrow I am flying to fly to Paris for my next Diamond League.
800m / Audrey Werro, SUI – 1st 1:58.73
The race went very well in general, I tried to go out fast, but not too fast neither. I wanted to do a race without being directly behind the pacer. I tried to keep the good position during the race and finish fast. I managed to do that, so I am happy. I have to admit that I was questioning myself a bit in the end, because I was closed in a bit but I just stayed confident that it will work out and it did. I try not to think too much about the fact that I am the youngest in the field, more that we are at the same level of performance and that I will run the best I can. I still train in the same club where I started out, I have a small inner circle that takes care of me and that helps me to perform at this level. I will race next at the European Team Championships in Madrid and then the focus will be on the European U23 Championships in Bergen where I want to win.
Long Jump / Mattia Furlani, ITA – 1st 8m11
I feel really good, because the most important today was to win. I feel that I can do better because my sensations were very good. My last jump was a really long jump. I am so happy that I have been so consistent this season because the most important goal for this season are the World Championships in September. It’s important to preserve and put in the work to be in the big shape there. This competition is important because we are three months from Tokyo, from now on we are trying to win each competition. I am happy that I could beat Liam today, he is a really good athlete. I met him for the first time in Nanjing where he won the bronze with 8m28 and I jumped 8m30 for the win. One time he wins, the other time I do. That’s the sport but it’s important to have fun and give the best of myself. Next are the European Team Championships in Madrid, it’s going to be a good competition with the Olympic Champion and other medalists. I am very excited to compete there.
100m Hurdles / Ditaji Kambundji, SUI – 1st 12.66 SB
I am very pleased that we had two races today, especially in the beginning of the season it’s important. The first race wasn’t great, but in the final I could execute all I wanted. I never put times in my heads, I just try improving every race, not only time wise but also on my working points. In the heats, my start was really bad, I could improve on that later on. The World Championships are still far away, so we have time. That’s also why we decided to race less. We are still training hard putting in a lot of load compared to previous years. I will now race at the European Team Championships in Madrid. I am really excited about Mujinga being pregnant and getting a new family member, it’s the best news. Of course, it’s gonna change a lot for us but at the moment we are still training together. She may not be at all the competitions anymore but we stay in touch by phone anyway. So it’s only positive news for us!
110m Hurdles / Dylan Beard, USA – 1st 13.16 MR SB
It’s my second Gold Tour victory for me this season. It’s my best season so far, maybe not personal best wise, but I have been really consistent. Before the race I had a long talk with my coach who was saying that I just need to stay relaxed till the end of my race because that’s where I got a little messy and hit hurdles during my last races. The last two rounds were some of my cleanest hurdles except for hurdle ten in the heats. He’s very good at talking me into the good mood before a race. The US Champs are about 40 days away. The goal was to come over here, get a lot of work and reps in competition wise. Now I have one more meet in Ostrava and then I will be home for a training block preparing for the trials.
Pole Vault / Elien Vekemans, BEL – 1st 4.61 NR
I didn’t expect that result at all, I am in the middle of my exams of bio-engineering. Today was actually a study break, so it’s crazy to come out with my first Gold win and a new Belgian Record, the second of the year. It’s a very tough period for me, so I decided to compete less than usual. The outdoor season just started out for me. I didn’t have the impression to have a constant rhythm in my previous competitions, and it was raining really strong last time. Today, I knew that I was in good shape. I had energy, the technique was good and the weather too. I will only do the European Team Championships in Slovenia and focus on my remaining exams in June and then I will compete a bit more in July. Today, I could really take advantage of the pole and now I need to go up on bigger poles and continue doing the same thing to jump even higher.
1500m / Emriyas Girma, ETH – 1st 3:33.49 MR PB
I am feeling very grateful and happy for today’s victory and personal best. It was my first 1500m of the season but I new that could run a personal best. I have another race in Finland on 21st June in Kuortane. The 1500m is my main event but I want to run sometimes 3000m and 5000m.
100m / Romell Glave, GBR – 1st 10.08
I feel aesthetic, getting my first Gold Meet win. It’s the redemption from the European Championships where I finished behind Jacobs. This time I got the better of him. After the heats I felt a bit tight but I had enough time to go back to warmup and release it. In the final I was able to push through and I finally timed the dip perfectly. I feel like I just need to have a good race and stay healthy as much as I can to run that sub 10. I was able to be patient compared to my last race, I just focused on the first 30m. I need to recover after today and then I want to race a 200m in July. I want to execute a good race. I haven’t done a lot of 200m in the last years because of health issues but I have been training well in overspeed and long distance. So, I am in good shape to run a good 200m.
100m / Zoe Hobbs, NZL – 1st 11.07 MR SB
I am happy that it’s the World Championships standard, it’s nice to tick that one off. It’s been great conditions, the track is nice and fast. Coming into the race I just wanted to put the little pieces together. I feel like my season has been up and down since Doha, some good things, some bad things. I feel like with my start I am getting left behind a bit, even in the heats. I felt like I reacted very well in the final. Now it’s about merging the last part of the race. There are still some things I need to piece together. I will race Ostrava next. I am based in Leuven at the moment, it’s a hotspot for the Kiwis. It’s nice to have a sense of home away from home.
3000m Steeple / Frederik Ruppert, GER – 1st 8:10.31 MR
I had a tough training week because it was so warm in Germany. I couldn’t reach the performances of the weeks before at training, so that makes it extra special that I could run like this today. I felt very good during the race and knew that I could make a point again, but I didn’t really have a choice after Rabat’s race. Now I have more pressure from the outside, most people expected me to win today but it wasn’t necessarily the case for me. There were many athletes in the field, among others Karl, which I have never beaten before. So I calmed myself and told myself that I am the chaser and not the one that is chased. That helped me a lot today even if I can’t do this forever. Running the 1500m in Karlsruhe was important to remind me what real pain is. Even if in Rabat it was much faster, the 1500m is much tougher for me with the strides and the lactic. In Germany, the men’s steeplechase have improved a lot in the last years. Before I started there were no real international runners, so that’s nice to see that together with Karl we can win international races which hasn’t been the case for 25 years. This pushes us to continue improving. Next up are the 5000m at the European Team Championships in Madrid. The goal is to compare myself to the best runners over that distance. Because if I want to shine in the steeple, I also need to do well on the flat races.
Discus Throw / Kristjan Ceh, SLO – 1st 70.61
It was a crazy competition with three throwers over 70m. This is not something you see every day, especially in Europe. It’s a crazy good crowd with good conditions. I didn’t know that I was 1cm short off Daniel’s Stadium Record, so maybe that’s for next year. We did a great job in the winter preparation, we were working hard because last season was the worst of my career. It didn’t go as planned. Now we had a little different approach and it all paid off. The results are consistent. This Saturday I will compete in Jöhvi and then in Slovenia for the European Team Championships before taking a three week pause till the next competition.
High Jump / Morgan Lake, GBR – 1st 1.91
It’s the first time I won a Gold meeting, so this was a very big aim for me today. I had some good attempts at 1.94 and a few things to work on before the Paris Diamond League on Friday. This week has been great, I also won in Athens with 1.94, I feel like I am getting towards comfortably jumping higher heights. Obviously, I always want more, but the win was great. It’s crazy that I have jumped over 1.90 every year since 2013. When I jumped it for the first time it was a complete shock, because I was only 17. Now 11 years later, I am still doing it. The consistency probably comes from doing the multis when I was younger and keeping interest in the sport. I have changed the coach a few times and the change of environment always kept me hungry for more. For me the next big goal is to jump 2m, it’s the height everyone wants to clear and no British woman has achieved that feat before.
3000m Steeple / Marwa Bouzayani, MAR – 1st 9:19.46
I am very satisfied winning this race today, especially because we are only four days after the Diamond League in Oslo where I finished third in a season’s best of 9:06. This race was difficult because of the windy weather and the other athletes were far behind. We don’t have many elite athletes from Tunisia but we have had some Olympic Champions and my dream is to become the next one. It’s great to see that there are more and more young athletes joining our sport at home. My next race will be at the Diamond League in Eugene.
5000m / John Heymans, BEL – 1st 13:03.87 SB
It felt easy till the third kilometer, we passed in 7:52 and I told myself that I could easily do the last 1km’s in 2:34. But I don’t know what was missing today. I am in a way better shape than last year, but it doesn’t come out. We just changed some small things in our preparation. The qualifying mark for Tokyo of 13:01 should be easy, I should easily get the job done, even running alone in front. But today, the last 600m my legs couldn’t follow anymore. Initially, I planned to qualify for the 5000m today, so that I could focus on running the qualifying mark in the 1500m too. But now I have to go back to training and I will try to punch my ticket mid-July in Heusden-Zolder.
Hammer Throw / Camryn Rogers, CAN – 1st 74.59
I feel good, there is still some technical stuff to work on from today. This season is so exciting, the Paavo Nurmi Games is one of my favorite meets. I love to compete here, the crowd is crazy, they are so passionate and everyone loves hammer. So coming here is a huge privilege. Silja and Krista are amazing, they are such icons, I love seeing them. It is always so much fun to compete with both of them. The hammer throw community is top tier. It’s such a special time to be a hammer thrower, especially for women. I mean we have many of the Top 10 of All Time competing now and they are so supportive. We are very close community, it feels special to be part of it and come here to celebrate it. I head now to Kuortane after that I am going home for a few weeks and then Prefontaine Classicin Eugene. Now the goal is to make the right adjustments.
1500m / Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, CAN – 1st 4:02.00 MR SB
It is my fastest time since 2022 and that makes me very happy. Especially given the way I had to run it. I was hoping to stay in the pack to block the wind, but it wasn’t too bad today and the pacer did a great job. I had a bad first lap but then I accelerated and had nowhere to go than in the lead. So I took it and am very happy I did. I thought about letting the lead go but I did that when I was younger and that never worked out because you get stuck. So I just held the lead and pulled it off. I like the 1500m a lot more than the 5000m but with my injuries I was really struggling to do the speedwork. But I needed to do it to improve in the 5000m. This year the biggest goal is to make the worlds in both events. Now that I have the standard in the 5k I am just focusing on the 1500m. I just need to improve that to be competitive on the world level in the 5000m. This weekend I will go to Troyes in France and hope to improve on today’s time.