Juha Väätäinen (born 12 July 1941) is a Finnish former athlete. He is the winner of the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter gold medals at the 1971 European Championships, held in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. He was the eldest of the successful Finnish runners, the others being Lasse Virén, Pekka Vasala, Tapio Kantanen, Martti Vainio, and Kaarlo Maaninka, who came into the limelight in the 1970s. He served as a Member of the Finnish Parliament for

, representing the

Finns Party The Finns Party ( , PS; , Sannf), formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The party achieved its electoral breakthro ...

between 2011 and 2015.

Athletics career

Early career 1960-68

Väätäinen started his running career as a sprinter. He won his first junior Finnish championship in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic Sport of athletics, athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a ...

in 1960. In 1965-67, his main event was the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

, in which he won Nordic Championship in 1965, beating, for example, young Anders Gärderud. Väätäinen was coached by Paavo Meskus from 1963 until Meskus' death in 1968. However, Väätäinen was pretty independent and planned his training mostly by himself. He was also interested in altitude training as early as the winter of 1966-67, when he spent seven months in Alamosa as a student. In the summer of 1968, Väätäinen trained for five weeks in

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. On his return to Finland, he ran the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

in 8:01.0, improving his personal best by 52 seconds. The competition was won by

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

world record holder

Jouko Kuha Jouko Santeri Kuha (born 30 September 1939 in Ranua) is a Finnish former long-distance runner, who specialized in the 3000 metres steeplechase. In 1968 he broke the World record with a result of 8:24.2. Career Kuha's international breakthrou ...

, with a new Finnish record of 7:56.6. After the 1968 season, Väätäinen decided to focus on long-distance running.

Move to long distances (1969-70)

In 1969, Väätäinen engaged in altitude training for the second time, in

Cervinia Breuil-Cervinia (; ; Valdôtain: ), officially Le Breuil from September 2023, is a of the ''comune'' of Valtournenche, Italy. It is a winter and summer tourist resort. Etymology The name ''Breuil-Cervinia'' is a fusion of two terms. On the o ...

. He ran the 10,000 metres in 28:53.0 and the 5000 metres in 13:50.0, and was selected for the European Championships in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. However, he was not able to compete because of an

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

he received from a drug injection due to his weak blood test results. In December 1969, Väätäinen stayed in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

on his trip to

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. His foot slipped on the snowy road and he injured an

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

. He finished the Saint Silvester Road Race anyway, placing 26th. As his original intention was to continue training in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

after the race, he decided to stay in Penedo, Itatiaia. Because of the injury, his training was reduced until March 1970. However, in April 1970, he ran 1100 km. In 1970, Väätäinen improved his personal bests: 13:43.2 in the 5000 metres and 28:19.6 in the 10,000 metres. After the season, the injured Achilles tendon was operated on.

European Championships in Helsinki 1971

In the winter of 1970-71, Väätäinen trained again in Brazil. He came in 10th at the Saint Silvester Road Race. In Penedo, he ran over 1000 km per month. In late March, he flew to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

for altitude training. In Mexico, he ran 350 km per week at his height. In May, he traveled to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where he improved his 2-mile Finnish record to 8:33.0. After his return to

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, Väätäinen continued altitude training in Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via. Returning to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, Väätäinen set new Finnish records in the 3000 metres (7:56.4) on 20 July in

; and the 10,000 metres (28:12.8) at the Finnish Championships on 23 July in

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

. The 1971 European Championships 10,000 metre final was held on 10 August. The race is regarded by many as one of the greatest distance races of all time. In front of a highly excited Finnish crowd, Väätäinen was in a group of six runners at the final bell following David Bedford, who had led from the start. Väätäinen and

Jürgen Haase Jürgen Haase (born 19 January 1945) is a former track and field athlete and Olympian, who, competing for East Germany, was among the world's best long distance track runners in the 1960s and 1970s. Twice during this period, in 1966 and 1969, ...

both kicked past Bedford in a thrilling last lap "burn-up", bringing the crowd to its feet as they battled neck and neck to the line, with Väätainen just edging out Haase in a new Finnish record time of 27:52.78. Väätäinen ran the last 400 metres in 53.8 seconds. The 5000 metre final was held four days later. Väätäinen won this event as well, beating

Jean Wadoux Jean Wadoux (born 29 January 1942) is a retired French middle-distance runner. He competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics in 1500 m and at the 1968 Summer Olympics in 5000 m and finished in ninth place on both occasions. On 23 July 1970 he set a E ...

and

Harald Norpoth Harald Norpoth (born 22 August 1942) is a West German former middle and long distance runner. He won the silver medal over 5000 m at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as a member of the United Team of Germany.Track & Field News'' annual world ranking, Väätäinen was ranked first in both the 5000 and 10,000 metres.

Olympics 1972

In the winter of 1971-72, Väätäinen trained at a high altitude in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

. In summer 1972, he suffered from

sciatica Sciatica is pain going down the leg from the lower back. This pain may go down the back, outside, or front of the leg. Onset is often sudden following activities such as heavy lifting, though gradual onset may also occur. The pain is often desc ...

. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, he qualified for the 5000 metre final, but disappointed with a 13th-place finish. However, only three days later in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Väätäinen improved his personal best at 5000 metres to 13:28.4. On the following day, he ran 13:35.4 in

, placing third in the same race that Lasse Virén set a new world record, clocking 13:16.4. Väätäinen ended his athletics career after the season; he attempted a comeback in 1974, but unsuccessfully.

Professional career

By education, Väätäinen is a primary school teacher. However, he has not worked in the profession since the 1960s. Over the years, Väätäinen has worked as a coach, being especially successful in the field of

racewalking Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

. He has coached, for example, Reima Salonen and Sari Essayah. Väätäinen served as a head coach of long-distance runners at the Finnish Athletics Association in 1988-90. In the 2000s, Väätäinen has worked as a painter. In 2007, he was a candidate in the Finnish parliamentary election, but was not elected. In

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, he was elected as a member of the

. He did not seek re-election in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

References

External links

Tilastopaja profile for Juha Väätäinen (in Finnish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaatainen, Juha 1941 births Living people Sportspeople from Oulu Athletes from North Ostrobothnia Finns Party politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–2015) Finnish male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Finland European Athletics Championships medalists Finnish Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Finnish sportsmen