Full name Mikko Tapio Latvala Name Mikko Latvala Nationality Finland Height 1.82 m | Sport Athletics Weight 82 kg Coached by Toni Latvala | |
Club Haapajarven Kiilat (FIN) Personal best(s) Pole vault: 5.66 m (2001) | ||
Mikko Latvala Seiväskarnevaalit esittely
Mikko Tapio Latvala (born July 8, 1980 in Vaasa) is a Finnish pole vaulter. He won a silver medal for his category at the 2001 European Athletics Under-23 Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with his best possible height of 5.50 metres. In 2007, Latvala suffered from multiple serious injuries, including a torn chest muscle as a result of a weightlifting accident in South Africa.
Latvala qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by successfully clearing a B-standard height of 5.63 metres from the Finnish Elite Games series in Lapua. He placed twenty-second in the first round of men's pole vault, with a best possible height of 5.45 metres, tying his overall position with Ukraine's Oleksandr Korchmid.
Latvala is also a full-time member of Haapajärven Kiilat, a local track and field club in Haapajärvi, and is coached and trained by his brother Toni.