Quick Facts
Biography
Jarkko Ala-Huikku (born January 31, 1980 in Seinäjoki) is an amateur Finnish Greco-Roman wrestler, who played for the men's lightweight category. He won the bronze medal for his division at the 2007 European Wrestling Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, and gold at the 2008 European Wrestling Championships in Tampere. He is also a member of Ilmajoen Kisailijat Wrestling Club in Ilmajoki, and is coached and trained by Seppo Yli-Hannuksela, the father of two-time Olympic medalist Marko Yli-Hannuksela.
At age twenty-eight, Ala-Huikku made his official debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed in the men's 60 kg class. He received a bye for the second preliminary match, before losing out to Kyrgyzstan's Ruslan Tumenbaev, who was able to score seven points in two straight periods, leaving Ala-Huikku with a single point.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Ala-Huikku, however, lost again in the second preliminary match of men's 60 kg class to France's Tarik Belmadani, with a technical score of 0–4.