Irja Ester Helena "Leena" Pietilä, married surname: Vainio (born 29 March 1925 – 20 May 2014) was a Finnish

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. She was a two-time Nordic champion and a seven-time Finnish national champion.

Early life

On 29 March 1925, Pietilä was born in

Rauma, Finland Rauma (; ) is a town in Finland, on the western coast of the country. Rauma is in the Satakunta region, by the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Rauma is approximately , while the sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most p ...

Career

Pietilä was a figure skater for Helsingfors Skridskoklubb in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. Pietilä placed 16th at the 1947 World Championships in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden; 13th at the 1950 European Championships in Oslo, Norway; and 13th at the 1951 European Championships in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, Switzerland. In February 1952, Pietilä represented Finland at the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Discussions about Oslo hosting ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway, and finished 20th. After retiring from competition, Pietilä became an international figure skating judge and coach.

Competitive highlights

Personal life

On May 20, 2014, Pietilä died in

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...

, Finland. Pietilä was 89.

References

External links