Juha Väätäinen
Juha Väätäinen in 2011.
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Juha Väätäinen |
| Full name | Toivo Juha Väätäinen |
| Nickname(s) | Juha the Cruel Julma-Juha in Finnish |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Born |
12 July 1941 Oulu, Finland |
| Residence | Helsinki, Finland |
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 60 kg (130 lb; 9.4 st) |
| Website | www.juhavaatainen.info |
| Sport | |
| Country |
 Finland
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| Sport | Running |
| Event(s) | Long-distance |
| Club | Haapaveden Urheilijat 1958-67 Oulun NMKY:n Urheilijat 1968-72 |
| Coached by | Paavo Meskus 1963-68 |
| Retired | 1972 |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Regional finals |
1971: 5000 m 1st 1971: 10,000 m 1st |
| Olympic finals | 1972: 5000 m 13th |
| Highest world ranking | 5000 m: 1st (1971) 10,000 m: 1st (1971) |
| Personal best(s) | 200 m: 22.1 (1967) 400 m: 48.9 (1967) 800 m: 1:48.4 (1967) 1500 m: 3:43.7 (1968) Mile: 4:04.6 (1966) 3000 m: 7:53.4 (1972) 2 Miles: 8:33.0 (1971) 5000 m: 13:28.4 (1972) 10,000 m: 27:52.78 (1971) |
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Medal record
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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. 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 Helsinki, representing the Finns Party between 2011 and 2015.
Väätäinen started his running career as a sprinter. He won his first junior Finnish championship in the 400 metres hurdles in 1960. In 1965-67, his main event was the 800 metres, 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. On his return to Finland, he ran the 3000 metres in Helsinki in 8:01.0, improving his personal best by 52 seconds. The competition was won by 3000 metres steeplechase world record holder Jouko Kuha, with a new Finnish record of 7:56.6. After the 1968 season, Väätäinen decided to focus on long-distance running.
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Wikipedia