Irja Ester Helena "Leena" Pietilä, married surname: Vainio (born 29 March 1925 – 20 May 2014) was a Finnish figure skater. 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 (; sv, Raumo) is a town and municipality of around () inhabitants on the west coast of Finland, north of Turku, and south of Pori. Its neighbouring municipalities are Eura, Eurajoki, Laitila and Pyhäranta. Granted town privileges on 1 ...

Career

Pietilä was a figure skater for Helsingfors Skridskoklubb in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. Pietilä placed 16th at the 1947 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden; 13th at the 1950 European Championships in Oslo, Norway; and 13th at the 1951 European Championships in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

, Switzerland. In February 1952, Pietilä represented Finland at the 1952 Winter Olympics in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) 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 ...

, 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 (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 ...

, Finland. Pietilä was 89.

References

External links