Mika Tapani Vasara (born 22 October 1983 in

Pieksämäki Pieksämäki () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region, about north of Mikkeli, east of Jyväskylä and south of Kuopio. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

) is a male

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

ter from

. Vasara won his first medal in the Finnish Championships in 2006 when he won the bronze in the indoors championships and silver in the outdoors. On 4 June 2006, in

Leppävirta Leppävirta () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, south of Kuopio along the Finnish national road 5. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population den ...

, Vasara put the shot over the 20-m line for the first time in his career, making him the 20th member of the

20 meter club The 20 meter club (''20 metrin kerho'' in Finnish) is an unregistered Finnish association for Finnish shot putters who have put the shot more than in an official competition using a shot for men and a for women. The 20 meter club was founded ...

. Vasara also competed in the

2006 European Championships in Athletics The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Champions ...

, but did not make the final. Vasara's current record is 20.21, which he hoped to surpass at his first adult

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. His result was 19.55 when 19.92 was needed to qualify for the final. Vasara puts for Pieksämäen Veikot and is coached by his father, Markku Vasara. Mika Vasara himself has a family of four. In addition with athletics, Vasara is studying for

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

at Savonia University of Applied Sciences.

External links

Official website
1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Pieksämäki Finnish male shot putters Athletes from South Savo 20th-century Finnish people 21st-century Finnish sportsmen {{Finland-athletics-bio-stub