Esko Mikkola
Esko Olavi Mikkola (born 14 February 1975 in Tampere) is a Finnish javelin thrower.
Competing for the Arizona Wildcats track and field team, Mikkola won two NCAA DI javelin titles.[1][2]
He won a silver medal at the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu and finished eleventh at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. He then competed at the 2005 World Championships without reaching the final.
His personal best throw is 84.27 metres, achieved in July 2004 in Nokia.
Javelin throwing is not Mikkola's only claim to fame. His first sport was wrestling, which he did for ten years or more and is now exploring the sport of bobsledding.
Esko was a research assistant at The University of Arizona, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and has published numerous papers in the fields of prognostic cells and radiation effects. As of spring 2008, Mikkola has completed his Ph.D. and has returned to Finland for the summer to concentrate on training for the 2008 Olympics.
Currently, he works as the CEO for the company Alphacore that he founded, located in Phoenix, Arizona. He has received U.S. citizenship.[3]
Achievements
[edit]| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Finland
| ||||
| 1999 | Universiade | Palma de Mallorca, Spain | 8th | 75.30 m |
| 2003 | Universiade | Daegu, South Korea | 2nd | 75.82 m |
| 2004 | Olympic Games | Athens, Greece | 11th | 79.43 m |
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 21st (q) | 72.54 m |
Seasonal bests by year
[edit]- 1992 - 61.36
- 1993 - 65.72
- 1994 - 73.32
- 1996 - 73.32
- 1997 - 73.34
- 1998 - 81.86
- 1999 - 81.61
- 2000 - 74.06
- 2001 - 82.48
- 2002 - 76.60
- 2003 - 82.02
- 2004 - 84.27
- 2005 - 82.14
- 2006 - 80.05
- 2007 - 82.34
- 2008 - 82.83
- 2009 - 80.08
- 2010 - 74.80
References
[edit]
Notes
[edit]- ^ "Esko Mikkola HOF".
- ^ "Mikkola Wins NCAA Javelin Title".
- ^ Salomaa, Tomi (25 August 2020). "Suomalainen olympiakeihäänheittäjä lähti Yhdysvaltoihin, väitteli tohtoriksi ja perusti firman: "NASA:n kanssa on mennyt todella hyvin"". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 23 December 2023.
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- 1975 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Tampere
- University of Arizona alumni
- Finnish male javelin throwers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Olympic athletes for Finland
- Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
- FISU World University Games silver medalists for Finland
- Medalists at the 2003 Summer Universiade
- Finnish expatriates in the United States
- 20th-century Finnish people
- 21st-century Finnish people
- Finnish company founders
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
- Arizona Wildcats men's track and field athletes
- Finnish athletics biography stubs