Tuomas Heikkilä finishes 13th in European 5,000m final

Finnish athlete Tuomas Heikkilä finished 13th in the 5,000-meter final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. He recorded a time of 13:30.64, which was approximately five seconds slower than his personal best of 13:25.85.

During the race, Heikkilä led the pack for approximately one kilometer after deciding to set the pace when the initial speed was slow. The race was won by Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen with a time of 13:15.29. Heikkilä, who also competes at a high level in orienteering, noted that he has utilized similar training methods to Ingebrigtsen over the last six years.

Heikkilä expressed satisfaction with his performance, noting that his goal was to finish within the top 20. He remains in peak physical condition and believes a personal record is achievable later this summer if he finds a race with a suitable pace.