Juha Iisakki Mieto (born 20 November 1949) is a Finnish former cross-country skier, who was born in Kurikka. He competed in the 1972, 1976, 1980 and 1984 Olympics and won five medals, including a gold medal in the 4 × 10 km relay in 1976. He also placed fourth three times, losing the 15 km bronze medal in 1972 by 0.06 seconds. He finished second in this event in 1980 in the closest-ever margin of victory in Olympic cross-country skiing, 0.01 seconds, which led the International Ski Federation (FIS) to round all of their times to the nearest 1/10 second in future competitions. Mieto was selected as the Finnish flag bearer at the 1972 Winter Olympics.Finland. sports-reference.com
Mieto won four medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, with silvers in the 30 km (1974) and the 4 × 10 km relay (1978), and bronzes in the 15 km (1978) and the 4 × 10 km relay (1982, tied with East Germany). His biggest success as a cross-country skier was at the Holmenkollen ski festival where he won the 50 km once (1973) and the 15 km five times (1973–1975, 1977–1978). He received the Holmenkollen medal in 1974.
After retiring from competitions in 1984 Mieto worked in public relations for several organizations, including Nordea Bank, Kuortane Sports Resort and World Vision. In the 2007 Finnish parliament elections he was a Centre Party candidate in Vaasa constituency. He was elected with 13,768 votes, which was the seventh best result in Finland that year.
Cross-country skiing results
All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).
Olympic Games 5 medals – (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze) Year Age 15 km 30 km 50 km 4 × 10 km relay 1972 22 4 — — 5 1976 26 10 4 34 Gold 1980 30 Silver 7 Silver Bronze 1984 34 4 8 10 Bronze
World Championships 4 medals – (2 silver, 2 bronze) Year Age 15 km 30 km 50 km 4 × 10 km relay 1974 24 4 Silver 35 4 1978 28 Bronze 7 44 Silver 1982 32 6 5 DNF Bronze 1985 36 52 — — —
World Cup Season standings Season Age Overall 1982 32 26 1983 33 28 1984 34 18
Individual podiums
1 podium No. Season Date Location Race Level Place1 1982–83 10 February 1983 Igman, Yugoslavia 15 km Individual World Cup 2nd
Team podiums 2 podiums No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates1 1981–82 25 February 1982 Oslo, Norway 4 × 10 km Relay World Championships 3rd Härkönen / Karvonen / Kirvesniemi2 1983–84 16 February 1984 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia 4 × 10 km Relay Olympic Games 3rd Ristanen / Kirvesniemi / Karvonen
Note: Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.
References
External links
Holmenkollen medalists – click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file Holmenkollen winners since 1892 – click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file Official home page