Leena Pietilä
Irja Ester Helena "Leena" Pietilä, married surname: Vainio was a Finnish figure skater who competed both in women's singles and pairs. She represented Finland at the 1952 Winter Olympics. At the domestic level, she was a seven-time Finnish [Figure Skating Championships|Finnish national] champion in women's singles and a five-time national champion in pair skating with two partners.
Early life
On 29 March 1925, Pietilä was born in Rauma, Finland. She was discovered by Marcus Nikkanen during a trip to teach skaters in smaller towns.Career
Pietilä was a figure skater for Helsingfors Skridskoklubb in Helsinki. She was a seven-time Finnish national champion from 1946 to 1953, with her only loss being in 1948 to Kirsti Linna. She also competed domestically in pair skating; she won the national championships in 1947 with Biger Nyman and from 1951 to 1953 and again in 1955 with Lars Björkman.In 1946, she competed at the Nordic Championships and won the bronze medal. The next year, she placed 16th at the 1947 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, which was her only appearance at the World Championships.
In 1950, she placed 13th at the European Championships in Oslo, Norway, and she won the silver medal at the 1950 Nordic Championships. The next year, she was again 13th at the 1951 European Championships in Zürich, Switzerland. In March 1951, she was reported to be training in London under coach Arnold Gerschwiler. In November, she entered the Richmond Trophy, where she placed 9th.
She entered in 1952 European Championships in February but withdrew. Later in February, Pietilä represented Finland at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, and finished 20th.
After retiring from competition, Pietilä became an international figure skating judge and coach and joined the board of directors for the Finnish Figure Skating Association.