Ari Pekka Mannio
(born July 23, 1987) is a Finnish
javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...
er.
Early career
Mannio first represented Finland internationally at the
2003 European Youth Olympic Festival in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, where he won the bronze medal. The next year, he competed in the
2004 World Junior Championships in
Grosseto
Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river.
It is the m ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, placing sixth against boys up to two years older and setting a new personal best of 70.63 metres with the men's 800 gram javelin. Mannio's first full year with the men's implement was in 2005. That year, he claimed a bronze medal at the
European Junior Championships in
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
.
2006 saw Mannio's first successes against adult javelin throwers, as he claimed a bronze medal at the 2006
Finnish Championships. However, even though he entered the
World Junior Championships in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, as the world junior leader, he was convincingly beaten in the final by
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
's
Robert Oosthuizen
John Robert Oosthuizen (born 23 January 1987) is a South African javelin thrower. He is a second generation athlete following in his father Johan Oosthuizen's footstep. Oosthuizen senior's, who never got the chance to represent his country in i ...
. The next year, in 2007, he again failed to claim international gold despite having the best mark coming in; entering the
European U23 Championships in
Debrecen
Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
as the only man in the field to have broken 80 metres, Mannio was narrowly pushed out of the medals altogether and had to be content with 4th.
Mannio still had steady development by 2008, as Mannio had recorded a new personal best of 81.54 metres in June 2008. However, he was still only the sixth best thrower in Finland that year and was nowhere near making the three-man team for the
Beijing Olympics.
Elite career
Mannio opened 2009 with a massive personal best of 85.70 metres, an improvement of over four metres on his previous best.
This mark was only beaten that year by five throwers worldwide
and would remain his season best, even though he also exceeded his 2008 best in all of his next four competitions and either exceeded or equalled it in a total of ten competitions over the year.
He also finally struck international gold: again entering the
European U23 Championships as the leading favorite, he was passed in the last round by
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
's
Petr Frydrych
Petr Frydrych (; born 13 January 1988) is a Czech track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. His personal best of 88.32 m was set at the 2017 World Championships, where he won the bronze medal. He is coached by world record hol ...
but rebounded with a championship record of 84.57 metres.
Even with these improvements, Mannio missed making Finland's four-man team for the
2009 World Championships.
Tero Pitkämäki
Tero Kristian Pitkämäki (born 19 December 1982) is a Finnish retired track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He is a World Champion, having won gold in 2007. His personal best throw of 91.53 m, set in 2005, ranks him eleve ...
was named as the defending World Champion and
Tero Järvenpää
Tero Mikael Järvenpää (born 2 October 1984 in Tampere) is a Finnish javelin thrower. He represents Tampereen Pyrintö on club-level and his coach is his father Pentti Järvenpää.
His personal best throw is 86.68 metres, achieved in July 2008 ...
based on his stellar 2008 season, while
Teemu Wirkkala
Teemu Sakari Wirkkala (born January 14, 1984, in Kokkola) is a Finnish javelin thrower. His personal best throw is 87.23 metres, achieved in July 2009 in Joensuu
Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland ...
, who, like the other two had represented Finland at the Olympics the year before, qualified in the first trial meet at
Pihtipudas
Pihtipudas is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in northern Central Finland along the Finnish national road 4, highway 4 (European route E75, E75), about north of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of ...
.
This left the fourth spot between Mannio and
Antti Ruuskanen
Antti Hermanni Ruuskanen (born 21 February 1984) is a retired Finnish track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. He is a European Champion, having won gold in 2014. His personal best is 88.98 m, which he set in 2015.
Career
He w ...
.
Ruuskanen beat Mannio in many of the remaining meets, crucially including the
Finnish Championships, and got the last spot while Mannio was named a reserve.
Mannio qualified for the
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
and
2016 Olympic games
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...
, reaching the final in 2012.
In 2015, Mannio beat his personal best again, with his new personal best being at 86.82 metres, an improvement of about 1 metre from his previous best in 2009.
Seasonal bests by year
*2003 - 60.58
*2004 - 70.63
*2005 - 76.40
*2006 - 79.68
*2007 - 80.31
*2008 - 81.54
*2009 - 85.70
*2010 - 85.12
*2011 - 85.12
*2012 - 84.62
*2013 - 84.65
*2014 - 83.70
*2015 - 86.82
*2016 - 81.38
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mannio, Ari
Living people
1987 births
People from Lehtimäki
Finnish male javelin throwers
Olympic athletes for Finland
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
World Athletics Championships athletes for Finland
European Athletics Championships medalists
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from South Ostrobothnia