Markku Juhani Kukkoaho (born 11 November 1946) is a Finnish former sprinter. Kukkoaho placed fourth in men's 400 metres at the 1971 and 1974 European Championships and sixth at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, where he set the still-standing Finnish national record of 45.49 seconds. He won bronze at the 1974 European Championships in the

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...

as part of the Finnish team.

Career

Kukkoaho won his first medals at the Finnish national championships (''Kalevan kisat'') in 1970, when he won the 400 metres in 46.5 and placed second in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

in 21.7. His best 400 m time that year was 46.1, which equaled

Voitto Hellstén Voitto Valdemar Hellsten"Voitto Hellsten ...

's national record from the 1956 Olympic semi-finals. In 1971 he was national champion in both events (20.8/46.9) and was selected for the 400 m and the 4 × 400 m relay for the 1971 European Championships in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. In the

400 m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is o ...

he set a new Finnish record, 45.74, but still finished just out of medals in fourth. The Finnish relay team was disqualified in the heats. Kukkoaho won the national 400 m title again in 1972 (46.9) and was selected for the

1972 Summer Olympic Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, again for both the individual 400 m and the 4 × 400 m relay. In the individual race he qualified for the final, in which he placed sixth. His time in the final, 45.49, broke his own Finnish record; , it still remains the national record, and only three other Finns have run under 46 seconds. In the

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...

the Finnish team of Stig Lönnqvist, Ari Salin, Ossi Karttunen and Kukkoaho ran 3:01.12, likewise placing sixth; that time also still remains the national record. In 1974, Kukkoaho won the national 400 m title for a fourth and final time; his winning time that year was 45.8, which still remains the championship record. At that year's European Championships he again placed a close fourth in the individual 400 m, missing out on a medal by 0.06 seconds; in the relay, however, he got his first international medal. The Finnish team of Lönnqvist, Karttunen, Markku Taskinen and Kukkoaho ran 3:03.57 and placed a close third behind Great Britain and West Germany; Finland was briefly disqualified due to Kukkoaho shoving France's

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ� ...

Francis Demarthon Francis Demarthon (born 8 August 1950) is a French former sprinter who competed in the 1980 Summer Olympics. Specializing in the 400 metres, his personal best was 45.89 seconds. He won the event at the 1979 Mediterranean Games and won a bronze ...

, but after a successful Finnish protest the disqualification was overturned and the team regained its medals. Kukkoaho won his final national individual title in 1976, winning the 200 m in his personal best time of 20.73; that spring, he ran the unusual distance of 300 metres in 33.2 for another still-standing national record. He returned to the Olympics in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

and the European Championships in 1978, but did not qualify for the finals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kukkoaho, Markku 1946 births Living people People from Puolanka Finnish male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Finland European Athletics Championships medalists Sportspeople from Kainuu