Emma Kristiina Laaksonen Terho (born 17 December 1981) is a Finnish

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

executive, retired

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

and the current Chair of the

IOC Athletes' Commission International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission (IOC AC) is a majority elected body that serves as a link between athletes and the IOC. The mission of the IOC AC is to ensure that athletes' viewpoint remains at the heart of the Olympic Moveme ...

. She previously served as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Kiekko-Espoo Naiset Kiekko-Espoo Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Auroraliiga. They play in the Tapiola district of Espoo, Finland at the () of the Tapiolan urheilupuisto. The team was founded as Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS) in 1989 and has also been known as E ...

in the

Naisten Liiga The Kansallinen Liiga ('National League') is the premier division of women's football in Finland. It was previously called the Jalkapallon naisten SM-sarja ('Women's Football Finnish Championship Series') during 1974 to 2006 and the Naisten L ...

. At the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

in Nagano she became the youngest Winter Olympian to medal for Finland, winning a bronze medal at the age of 16 years 54 days.

Playing career

Ohio State University

Terho played

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

with the

Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey The Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey team represents Ohio State University in NCAA Division I competition in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference. The team plays in Columbus, Ohio at The Ohio State Ice Rink, located ...

program while attending

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

(OSU) during 2000 to 2004. In the 2001–02 season she was the first women's ice hockey player from Ohio State to earn All-American honors when she was named to the 2001–02

Jofa The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA) is an Orthodox Jewish organization providing educational services on women's issues, with the aim of expanding "the spiritual, ritual, intellectual, and political opportunities for women within the f ...

American Hockey Coaches Association The American Hockey Coaches Association was formed in 1947 in Boston. The founding members coached college ice hockey but membership has grown to include coaches at every level of the sport from youth hockey to professional ice hockey, althou ...

(AHCA) Second Team All-American and was a top-10 finalist for the

Patty Kazmaier Award The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award is given to the top female college ice hockey player in the United States. The award is presented during the women's annual ice hockey championship, the Frozen Four. The award was first presented in 1998. The ...

. On 11 October 2008, Terho became the first women's hockey player to have her Buckeye number retired. The retirement ceremony occurred prior to an

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

vs.

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

football game at

Ohio Stadium Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencemen ...

, where Terho was recognized on the field at the 50-yard line. She was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame on 25 September 2009.

Espoo Blues, 2004–2007

In Finland she played with the

Espoo Blues Naiset Kiekko-Espoo Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Auroraliiga. They play in the Tapiola district of Espoo, Finland at the () of the Tapiolan urheilupuisto. The team was founded as Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS) in 1989 and has also been known as E ...

, with whom she won the

Finnish Championship Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

eight times (1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014, and 2015). With the Espoo Blues she won three Finnish Championship bronze medals (1997, 1998, and 2006).

SKIF Nizhny Novgorod

In the 2007–08 season Terho played in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

with SKIF of the

Russian Women's Hockey League The Zhenskaya Hockey League or ZhHL (), officially called the Women's Hockey League (WHL), is a professional ice hockey league in Russia, currently comprising eight teams. The league is also known as the PariMatch Women's Hockey League for sponso ...

(RWHL). Three other Finnish players, forwards

Kati Kovalainen Katariina Johanna "Kati" Kovalainen (born 24 January 1975) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and former member of the Finnish national ice hockey team. She represented Finland in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2006 Winter Olympic ...

Karoliina Rantamäki Karoliina Stina Margaretha Rantamäki (born 23 February 1978) is a Finnish ice hockey forward. She plays in the Auroraliiga with Kiekko-Espoo. Rantamäki holds the all-time career record for games played with the Finnish women's national ice ...

, and

Nora Tallus Nora Tallus, previously Liikanen, (born 9 February 1981) is a Finnish retired ice hockey forward, currently serving as assistant coach to KJT Haukat of the Naisten Mestis. She represented in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2006 Winter ...

, also played for SKIF in that season. The team won the 2008 Russian Women's Hockey League Championship.

Espoo, 2008–2017

Terho returned to the Espoo Blues after the 2007–08 season in Russia. The 2008–09 season was very successful, both personally and for the team. Terho set a career high for assists with 32 and ended the regular season with an impressive 34 points in just 19 games.

International play

As a member of the Finnish national ice hockey team, Terho was a five-time Winter Olympian and two time Olympic bronze medalist. In the inaugural Olympic women's ice hockey tournament at the 1998 Olympics, she was the youngest player on the bronze medal-winning Finnish team, at 16 years and 54 days. She served as Finland's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the women's ice hockey tournament at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, at which she won her second Olympic bronze medal, and as an alternate captain in the women's ice hockey tournament at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

. Terho also represented Finland at eight

IIHF Women's World Championships The IIHF Women's World Championship is the premier international women's tournament in ice hockey. It is governed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The official world competition was first held in 1990, with four more champions ...

, winning bronze medals at the tournaments in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, in addition to participating at the tournaments in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. She was selected to the Media All-Star team at the 2008 tournament.

Sports administration

Terho became involved in the administrative aspect of sport as a member of the Student Athlete Board during her junior and senior years at Ohio State University (2002–2004). In 2006, after graduating and returning to Finland to play in the Naisten SM-sarja, she became a member of the

Finnish Olympic Committee The Finnish Olympic Committee (; ) is the national Olympic committee in Finland for the Olympic Games movement. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams, and raises funds to send Finnish competitors to Olympic events organised by the I ...

. In 2011 as part of the IIHF Ambassador and Mentor Program (AMP) she became an Athlete Ambassador to Kazakhstan with the directive to use her experience at Olympic Games, World Championships, and other high level women's ice hockey programs to help build the women's game in her designated country. As her playing career wound down, Terho ramped up her involvement in Finnish sports administration and became an influential and important player in that sphere. At the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

, Terho was elected for an eight-year term as a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission, with the largest share of votes of all candidates put forward. The election also made her an

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

Member. On 6 August 2021, at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Terho was elected as the new Chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission. She replaced outgoing Chair

Kirsty Coventry Kirsty Leigh Coventry Seward (née Coventry; born 16 September 1983) is a Zimbabwean politician, sports administrator and former competitive swimmer. She will become the 10th president of the International Olympic Committee in June 2025, being ...

, who had served as chair since 2018 and had remained in role for an additional year beyond her eight-year term to help maintain the IOC Athletes’ Commission's work during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, following the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games.

Administrative titles and roles

* Member of the Board,

Finnish Ice Hockey Association The Finnish Ice Hockey Association (, ) is the sport governing body, governing body of ice hockey in Finland. Since the late 1980s, Finland has enjoyed a period of success on the international stage and, , the Finland men's national ice hockey t ...

, 2014–present * Member of the Finnish Advisory Board of Sport Ethics, 2015–present * Chair of Finnish Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission, 2016–2020; member, 2006–2016 * Member of the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...

(IIHF) Women's Committee, 2016–present * Member of the

(IOC), 2018–present ** Chair of the

, 2021–present; member, 2018–2021 ** Member of the Coordination Commission for the XXIV Olympic Winter Games (Beijing 2022), 2018–2022 ** Member of the Olympic Programme Commission, 2018–present ** Member of the Marketing Commission, 2020–2021 ** Member of the Legal Affairs Commission, 2019–2021 ** Member of the Olympic Solidarity Commission, 2022–present * Member of the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...

(WADA) Foundation Board, 2018–present ** Member of the Executive Committee, 2021–present

Personal life

Terho's mother is Vappu Viertola and her father is , a physicist and leading expert in the fields of nuclear energy and radiation safety; he served as Director General of the Finnish

Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (, ), often abbreviated as STUK, is a government agency tasked with nuclear safety and radiation monitoring in Finland. The agency is a division of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health; when foun ...

during 1997 to 2012. Terho was born on 17 December 1981 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where her father had been invited to survey and improve nuclear safety in the United States following the

Three Mile Island accident The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor (TMI-2) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, located on the Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Londonderry T ...

in 1979. Terho holds a

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

from Ohio State University (2004) and a Masters of Science in Economics from the

Helsinki School of Economics The Aalto University School of Business (; ), is the largest business school in Finland. Founded in 1911, it is the second oldest business school in Finland and one of the oldest business schools in the Nordic countries. The school became part of ...

Aalto University Aalto University (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economic ...

(2013). She began her career in finance while still an active ice hockey player, serving as a fixed income trader for Pohjola Bank from 2006 to 2013. Beginning in 2014, Terho served as a product manager for fixed income products at OP-Pohjola Financial Group. Her husband, Teemu Terho, also works in banking. They have two children, born in 2012 and 2014.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Club tournaments

International

Sources:

Awards and honours

Sources:

Records

NCAA

''Records valid through 2021–22 NCAA season.'' Season * 2nd most power-play goals (17), 2000–01 season – tied with Valerie Chouinard (2006–07) Single-game * Most power play goals (3), Ohio State vs. Wayne State on 2 March 2001 – tied for first with nine other players: Andie Anastos,

Hilary Knight Hilary Atwood Knight (born July 12, 1989) is an American ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward for PWHL Seattle of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is also captain of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She ...

, Bridgette Prentiss, Bobbi Ross, Melanie Salatino,

Jenny Schmidgall-Potter Jennifer Lynn Schmidgall-Potter (born January 12, 1979) is an American ice hockey player. She is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She won a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, silver medals at the 2002 Winter O ...

, Laura Slominski,

Blayre Turnbull Blayre Turnbull (born July 15, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and captain for the Toronto Sceptres of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She made her debut with the Canada women's national ice hockey team at the ...

, and

Rebecca Vint Rebecca Vint (born May 5, 1992) is a Canadian ice hockey coach, executive, and retired player. She played with the Robert Morris Colonials women's ice hockey program and graduated as the program's all-time leading scorer, with 73 goals and 134 po ...

WCHA

''Records valid through 2022–23 NCAA season.'' Career * 10th most goals by a defender (34) – tied with

Kerry Weiland Kerry Pauline Weiland Sorbara (; born October 18, 1980) is an American retired ice hockey and inline hockey player, a defenseman. As a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team, she won four IIHF Women's World Championship meda ...

and Rachel Ramsey * 15th most points by a defender (99) – tied with Kobi Kawamoto Season * 1st most power play goals (17), 2000–01 season * 5th most goals by a defender (19), 2000–01 season * 10th most power play points (29), 2000–01 season – tied with

(2002–03) and

Jocelyne Lamoureux Jocelyne Nicole Lamoureux-Davidson (born July 3, 1989) is an American former ice hockey player. She scored the game-winning shootout goal to win the gold medal for Team USA at the 2018 Winter Olympics against Canada after her twin sister Monique ...

(2011–12, 2012–13) * 19th most points per game by a defender (1.12), 2000–01 * 23rd most points by a defender (38), 2000–01 season – tied with Amber Bowman (2006–07), Courtney Kennedy (1999–2000), Satu Kiipeli (2000–01), and Michelle Sikich (1999–2000) Single-game * 1st most power play goals (3), Ohio State vs. Wayne State on 2 March 2001 – tied for first with six other players:

Brigette Lacquette Brigette Lacquette (born November 10, 1992) is a Canadian ice hockey player, currently playing defence for the Calgary section of the PWHPA and the Canadian national team. She participated at the 2015 IIHF Women's World Championship. In the aut ...

Nadine Muzerall Nadine Muzerall (born October 19, 1978) is a Canadian former ice hockey player and current coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey team. While attending the University of Minnesota as a student, she became their all-time leader with 1 ...

, Bobby Ross, Melanie Salatino, Laura Slominski, and

Ohio State Buckeyes

''Records valid through 2022–23 Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey season .'' Career * 3rd most power-play goals (23) – tied with Erin Keys * 4th most points by a defenseman (99) – tied with Jincy Dunne * 4th most power-play points (59) – tied with Laura McIntosh * 15th most points (99) – tied with Jincy Dunne Season * Most power-play goals (17), 2000–01 * Most power-play points (29), 2000–01 * 4th most points by a defenseman (38), 2000–01 – tied with Amber Bowman (2006–07) * 6th most points by a freshman (38), 2000–01 Single-game * Most power play goals (3), Ohio State vs. Wayne State on 2 March 2001

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Terho, Emma 1981 births Living people Aalto University alumni Espoo Blues Naiset players Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Finnish ice hockey administrators Finnish women's ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Washington, D.C. Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Finnish International Olympic Committee members Kiekko-Espoo Naiset players Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey players Olympic bronze medalists for Finland Olympic ice hockey players for Finland Olympic medalists in ice hockey HC SKIF players Ice hockey people from Espoo Women ice hockey executives 21st-century Finnish sportswomen