JANUARY 2000

LATEST FINNISH NEWS -

Javelin throwers MIKAELA INGBERG and HELI RANTANEN have
both made a good start to 2000.

MIKAELA INGBERG, the 1998 European bronze medallist after
undergoing knee surgery in the earlier autumn last year
is now back into light training. Over and above her 
Olympic aspirations she has set herself the goal of being
100% healthy for the 2000 season. The last time she was
fully fit was back in 1995 when she broke into the
world's elite by taking the bronze at the world
championships and as such, recapturing her full health
and fitness is she states her most important aim for 
2000.

1996 Olympic Champion, HELI RANTANEN, having left her 
coach Leo Pusa last autumn, has now settled into a new 
training regime under the experienced eyes of Into
Turvanen (Finnish Chief Coach) and Tapio Korjus (1988
Olympic champion and coach to Ingberg, Haatainen and 
Laukkanen).


ANNEMARI SANDELL, who will tackle the marathon at this
year's Sydney Olympics has confirmed that she will 
compete in the Lisbon Half Marathon in March in
preparation for her debut at the full distance at a
major spring city marathon (venue to be announced later).


SAMULI VASALA, Finnish 5,000m champion who competed in
the Seville world championships last summer with what
was later diagnosed as a broken bone in his foot, has
now fully recovered from the operation which took place
straight after the championships and is now back in full 
training.


ENDS.