The Jukola relay is about to start. Pictured are e.g. Niklas Johansson of Falkenbergs OK (157), Stefan Nordmyr of Närpes OK (156), Mikko Yli-Kauppila of Pargas IF 3 (155) and, in front, future junior world champion in ski orienteering Tapani Partanen of Hyvinkään Rasti (118). Photo: Paimion Kamerakerho.
In a month, the Jukola Relay is organized in Paimio for the third time in the competition’s history. The second one of these Jukolas was competed in 1993.
Back in the day – 22 years ago – the competition was undergone right next to Paimio’s town centre. The competition centre was right alongside Helsinki-Turku railroad and the courses extended east, almost reaching the border of the town of Halikko as it existed then. The organization of the competition was handled by Paimion Rasti – also taking part in Louna Jukola’s organizing – and Sauvon Urheilijat.
During the previous years all in all 16 Swedish top orienteers had died due to unknown reasons, which was only years later discovered to be bartonella bacterium which causes myocarditis. Due to the reason being unknown, the Swedish Orienteering Federation had assigned a training and competing prohibition to the Swedish top orienteers, which ended right after the 1993 Jukola. Due to this, the best Swedish teams weren’t participating and no participation records were made.
The victory of Venla relay went to Rastikarhut from Pori after Marja Pyymäki’s super finish. In Jukola relay the Norwegian sevenfold Jukola victor Halden SK achieved their first win as Petter Thoresen beat Janne Salmi of Turun Suunnistajat – who is also Louna-Jukola’s Communications Manager.
The victory fight on the last leg at its most feverish, with Janne Salmi of Turun Suunnistajat (on the left) confronting Petter Thoresen of Halden SK. Photo: Paimion Kamerakerho.
In 1993, there were many new establishments. The competitors had for the first time a chance to go to sauna. Just as well new and unusual were the ”phoneboxes” that had been built into the Jukola village.
– The results were for the first time in Jukola history fully handled by computers, Pekka Pirilä’s system was already then being employed. And we also had the biggest control stake, standing at nine metres, reminisces the 1993 Event Manager Juhani Harittu.
The Jukola brothers were sent on their way by the competition’s patron, shipbuilder Martin Saarikangas as he hit welded ship steel with a sledgehammer. The traditional message of the Jukola relay was directed to the Finnish entrepreneurs as the country had been influenced by economic depression and mass unemployment. The Turun Sanomat newspaper’s picture of the start of Jukola relay was at least Finland’s first image that was transported electrically straight to print.
The “digital photo” of Turun Sanomat newspaper showing the start of Jukola relay. Photo: TS-arkisto.
