Finland-Sweden Athletics International
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Most recent season or competition: 2016 Finland-Sweden athletics international |
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| Sport | Athletics |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 1925 |
| No. of teams | 2 |
| Countries |
 Finland,  Sweden |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Men: Sweden Women: Sweden |
| Most titles |
Men: Finland (45) Women: Sweden (36) |
| Official website |
www www |
Suomi-Ruotsi-maaottelu (literally The Finland-Sweden match) or Finnkampen (Swedish, literally The Finn Battle), is a yearly athletics international competition held between Finland and Sweden since 1925.
It is, since the late 1980s, the only annual athletics international (with only two participating countries) still held at a professional level. The two-day event attracts significant audiences, with a combined total of over 50,000 tickets sold for the 2011 competition. Three-time heptathlon world champion Carolina Klüft made her final international appearance for Sweden at the meeting in 2012.
The competition is actually divided into two internationals, one for men and one for women. Youth competitions for men and women are also held. Each country provides their three best participants in each of the events, except for the relays where there are four participants (one team) from each country. Traditionally, the competitions have been arranged alternatively, with Finland hosting in even years and Sweden in odd years. This have changed few times in the later years, seeing one country arranging the international twice in a row a few times. The reasons for this include stadium renovations and major international competitions. Points are given to all contestants completing their event (no points are given to athletes who are disqualified, do not finish the event or don't get the result in field competitions), based on the final position in every event. Points given in each event are, from 1st to 6th place: 7-5-4-3-2-1, and in relays 1st and 2nd place are awarded with 5 and 2 points.
The competition may not be a world class one looking at the results, no single world record has been set, but there are few competitions in the world that are fiercer and more prestigious. This is most often seen in the middle-distance running, where tactics are more important than time, and these events have seen many foul tricks during the years, in 1992 resulting in the disqualification of all six runners in the men's 1500 metres event.
Another important aspect of the event is that it is a team competition. A competitor who manages to reach fourth place instead of a projected sixth place can be just as important, or even more important, for the end result as a "star" that secures the expected first place. A fight to the finish between competitor number five and six, half a lap behind the winner, can be just as important as the actual winner. The race is not over until the last competitor crosses the line. For many of the competitors the international is the most prestigious competition of the year.
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Wikipedia