Sanni Marja Anniina Utriainen (born 5 February 1991) is a Finnish javelin thrower. She won gold at the 2010 World Junior Championships and competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Sanni Utriainen
Personal information
Born (1991-02-05) 5 February 1991 (age 33)
Nokia, Finland
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight64 kg (141 lb)
Sport
Country Finland
EventJavelin throw
ClubNokian Urheilijat
Tampereen Pyrintö
Coached byEsa Utriainen
Tero Järvenpää
Achievements and titles
Personal bestJavelin: 63.03 (2015)
Medal record
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Moncton Javelin throw
Updated on 10 August 2015

Biography

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Utriainen was born in Nokia, Finland on 5 February 1991.[1] Her father, Esa Utriainen, was Finnish champion in men's javelin throw in 1979 and represented Finland at the 1983 World Championships.[2] Sanni Utriainen first broke 50 metres in 2008, throwing 51.89 m at the Pihtipudas Javelin Carnival and winning the Finnish youth championship with 51.00 m.[3] In 2009, she placed ninth at the European Junior Championships in Novi Sad, throwing 51.25 m in the qualification and 48.45 m in the final.[3]

At the 2010 World Junior Championships in Moncton Utriainen won gold, throwing a personal best 56.69 m on her final attempt to overtake Latvia's Līna Mūze by five centimetres.[4] Later that summer she won gold at the Finnish championships in Kajaani, throwing 56.29 m for her first (and, as of 2015, only) national senior title; she also won at the Finland-Sweden Athletics International, setting a new personal best of 57.26 m.[3]

In the following years Utriainen's results stagnated; although she improved her personal best in each of 2011, 2012 and 2013, the improvements were only minor, and she didn't reach the international elite.[3][5] Her best throw in 2012, 59.31 m, was a Finnish under-23 record and exceeded the B standard for the Olympics in London;[6] she was selected for the Olympics, but went out in the qualifying round, not registering a valid mark on any of her three attempts.[1] In 2013, she improved her national under-23 record by four centimetres to 59.35 m.[3] She missed the 2014 season almost entirely due to an elbow injury.[5]

Utriainen broke 60 metres for the first time in June 2015 in Lappeenranta, throwing 60.08 m.[7] At the 2015 national championships in early August she only managed 57.59 m and placed second behind Oona Sormunen, but the following week she threw 63.03 m in Kuortane, improving her personal best by almost three metres and exceeding the qualifying standard for the World Championships in Beijing.[5][8]

Coaching

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Utriainen is coached by her father Esa.[9] Former javelin thrower Tero Järvenpää became her secondary coach in 2015.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sanni Utriainen Bio, Stats and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  2. ^ Esa Utriainen at Tilastopaja (in Finnish) (registration required)
  3. ^ a b c d e Sanni Utriainen at Tilastopaja (in Finnish) (registration required)
  4. ^ Arcoleo, Laura (22 July 2010). "Women's Javelin final". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Luikku, Susanna (1 August 2015). "Sanni Utriainen: Kisarajasta ei auta tehdä apinaa". Apu (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  6. ^ Uusitalo, Timo (1 June 2012). "Utriainen ylitti keihäässä Lontoon B-rajan" (in Finnish). Yleisradio. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Sanni Utriainen viskasi yli 60 metriä!" (in Finnish). MTV3. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  8. ^ Visuri, Roope (8 August 2015). "Hurja keihästulos Kuortaneella – MM-raja komeasti puhki" (in Finnish). Yleisradio. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Esa Utriainen keihäsvalmentajaksi Qatariin" (in Finnish). MTV3. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  10. ^ Holopainen, Pekka (1 August 2015). "Pekingiin vai ei? Utriaisen kisapaikasta senttipeliä". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
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