Kukkoaho won the national 400 m title again in 1972 (46.9) and was selected for the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, 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 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.