Mira Marjut Johanna Potkonen (née ''Miettinen'', born 17 November 1980) is a Finnish lightweight

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. She won a bronze medal in the 60 kg category at the 2016 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships and the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, the latter being Finland's only medal at the 2016 Games.

Career

2016 Summer Olympics

In the second round of competition, the quarterfinals, of lightweight boxing at the

in August 2016, Potkonen defeated the 2012 Olympic gold medalist in the event,

Katie Taylor Katie Taylor (born 2 July 1986) is an Irish professional boxer and former footballer. She was the undisputed and undefeated lineal world lightweight champion from 2019 to 2024, and has held the undisputed and lineal world super lightweight ...

and advanced to the next round of competition, the semifinals."Defending champion Katie Taylor crashes out of Olympic Games"
''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

''. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2021. By the end of competition, Potkonen won the bronze medal in the event."Boxing: Women's lightweight (60kg) bronze medal A results"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2021. It was the only medal for

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

at the 2016 Summer Olympics in any sport, and the first medal in boxing for the country at an

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

since the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

2020 Summer Olympics

Ahead of 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 ...

, company

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released its medal count predictions for the year's Olympic Games including a prediction that Potkonen would win the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in lightweight boxing.O'Riordan, Ian (28 January 2020)
"Ireland predicted to win best ever Olympic medal haul in Tokyo"
''

''. Retrieved 15 July 2021. At the

2020 European Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament The 2020 European Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament for boxing at the 2020 Summer Olympics began on 14 March 2020 at the Copper Box Arena in London. On 16 March, the tournament was suspended and postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...

, Potkonen lost to Caroline Dubois in the first round of competition and did not directly qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.Lewis, Ron (9 June 2021)
"Nine things we learnt from the European Boxing Olympic qualifiers"
''

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 ...

''. Retrieved 15 July 2021.McRae, Donald (23 June 2021)
"Team GB name 11-strong Olympic boxing squad packed with talent"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Retrieved 15 July 2021. However she qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games based on ranking. In the Olympics, which took place in 2021 due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, Potkonen beat

Maïva Hamadouche Maïva Hamadouche (born 4 November 1989) is a French professional boxer and police officer who held the IBF female super-featherweight title from November 2016 to November 2021. At regional level, she held the French female lightweight title in ...

, Oh Yeon-ji and

Esra Yıldız Esra Yıldız Kahraman (born 4 July 1997) is a Turkish amateur boxer who won a bronze medal in the lightweight divisions at the 2016 European Championships. She was named as a competitor for Turkey at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Personal life E ...

to guarantee a bronze medal. In the semi finals Potkonen lost to Beatriz Ferreira which meant Potkonen got a bronze medal.

Legacy

Potkonen's Olympic bronze medal at the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

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made her a flag-bearer symbol for more conventional summer sports in her home country of

, where sports such as

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 ...

tend to be more popular activities.Kamath, Amit (14 November 2018)
"Women's World Boxing Championships: Olympic medalist Mira Potkonen emerges as flag-bearer of conventional sports in Finland"
''Firstpost''. Retrieved 14 July 2021. In 2020, Potkonen was highlighted by the

for the impact she has had as an inspiration for young female boxers from nations not as well-known for boxing, including teenager Mariah Bahe looking to fight representing the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

.Watta, Evelyn (4 December 2020)
"Mariah Bahe aiming to continue tradition of Olympic medallists from less-known boxing nations"
''

''. Retrieved 15 July 2021.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Potkonen, Mira 1980 births Boxers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Finnish women boxers Living people Olympic boxers for Finland People from Heinävesi Olympic bronze medalists for Finland Olympic medalists in boxing Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Boxers at the 2015 European Games Boxers at the 2019 European Games European Games medalists in boxing European Games gold medalists for Finland AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships medalists Lightweight boxers Sportspeople from South Savo 21st-century Finnish sportswomen