Helander warmed up for the European Championships (10th-16th August) by taking gold in the men's javelin with a best throw of 81.60m at the Kaleva Games - Finland's national championships - on Sunday 26th July.
He threw 85.75m to take bronze two years ago before finishing 12th at the Paris Olympics, then was unable to crack the top 20 at the World Championships in Tokyo a year ago, throwing below 80m.
That dip in results when it comes to the biggest competitions is part of the reason why Helander's bronze in Rome is still their most recent outdoor medal at a major championships. But Helander is confident of ending that short drought himself in Birmingham.
"A medal is a pretty clear goal for me there. The European level hasn't been terribly tough this season. I have a feeling that I can really throw far this season. I hope it happens in Birmingham," said the 29-year-old.
On his performance at the Finnish Championships, he believed he could have done more: "I felt good. It was a pretty steady and sure throw, although the winning result was a bit disappointing. It felt like it was actually possible to throw quite far."
Elsewhere at the Kaleva Games, Heidi Salminen's second place in the women's 400m hurdles was enough to secure herself a European Championships spot, while Eveliina Maattanen beat Veera Mattila to the women's 800m title, but they both must wait to discover if they have done enough to reach Birmingham.
Nora Lindahl began her weekend by winning the women's 100m at the Swedish Championships in Uppsala, and finished it by taking gold in the 200m in Jyvaskyla. Also in top form is hammer thrower Silja Kosonen, who made light work of winning her fifth Finnish Championships title.