 He was the first Finn to put the shot more than 20 m in an official competition when he put it 20.15 metres in Turku, Finland on 19 July 1972; this was of course his personal best and a national record.Even though Simola was a five-time Finnish champion outdoors and three-time champion indoors, he never placed higher than 16th in the Olympics and 11th in the European Championships.Simola was one of the first six Finns originally admitted to the 20 meter club when it was founded in April 1983.