Sweden defeated Finland in both the men’s and women’s match at the Finnkampen in Stockholm on 23-24 August.
In the 100th anniversary since the first instalment of this historic international match, all of the top Swedish stars were in victorious form as the hosts prevailed 252 to 201 points in the men’s match and 242.5 to 211.5 points in the women’s match.
Armand Duplantis was among the victors on the first day, clearing 5.80m in the pole vault to secure a full complement of points. Fellow world champion Daniel Stahl won the discus the following day, leading a Swedish 1-2-3 with 67.48m while European 20km race walk champion Perseus Karlström won the 10,000m race walk in 39:33.40.
However, there were more than a few bright moments for the Finns who won both matches last year. Krista Tervo won the women’s hammer with a meeting record of 76.22m for victory over teammate Silja Kosonen with 73.90m and veteran Lassi Etalatalo won the javelin with a season’s best of 81.90m.
But the Swedes emerged victorious in front of their home fans in both competitions, avenging last year’s losses to their Nordic rivals.
“You could call it revenge! It was a historic and, to say the least, magical Finnkampen but there was a lot of pressure from the packed stands.
“In advance it looked like it could be a draw but we crushed all the preliminary calculations and there are so many who overachieve,” said an elated Swedish head coach Kajsa Bergqvist who was dunked in the water-jump for the steeplechase as the celebrations were in full swing in the Olympic Stadium.