Juha Mieto

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.[1] Mieto was selected as the Finnish flag bearer at the 1972 Winter Olympics.[2]

Juha Mieto
Juha Mieto in February 2019
Country Finland
Born (1949-11-20) 20 November 1949
Kurikka, Finland
Ski clubKurikan Ryhti
World Cup career
Seasons3 – (1982–1984)
Individual wins0
Team wins0
Indiv. podiums1
Team podiums2
Indiv. starts11
Team starts2
Overall titles0 – (18th in 1984)
Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1976 Innsbruck4 × 10 km relay
Silver medal – second place1980 Lake Placid15 km
Silver medal – second place1980 Lake Placid50 km
Bronze medal – third place1980 Lake Placid4 × 10 km relay
Bronze medal – third place1984 Sarajevo4 × 10 km relay
World Championships
Silver medal – second place1974 Falun30 km
Silver medal – second place1978 Lahti4 × 10 km relay
Bronze medal – third place1978 Lahti15 km
Bronze medal – third place1982 Oslo4 × 10 km relay

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.[1]

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.[1]

Cross-country skiing results
Mieto at the 1978 Holmenkollen Ski Festival, in Oslo, Norway

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[3]

Olympic Games
  • 5 medals – (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)
 Year   Age   15 km   30 km   50 km   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
1972224——5
19762610434Gold
198030Silver7SilverBronze
1984344810Bronze

World Championships
  • 4 medals – (2 silver, 2 bronze)
 Year   Age   15 km   30 km   50 km   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
1974244Silver—4
197828Bronze744Silver
19823265—Bronze

Season standings
 Season   Age  Overall
19823226
19833328
19843418

Individual podiums
  • 1 podium
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1 1982–83 10 February 1983Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Igman, Yugoslavia15 km IndividualWorld Cup2nd

Team podiums
  • 2 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates
1 1981–82 25 February 1982Norway Oslo, Norway4 × 10 km RelayWorld Championships[1]3rdHärkönen / Karvonen / Kirvesniemi
2 1983–84 16 February 1984Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sarajevo, Yugoslavia4 × 10 km RelayOlympic Games[1]3rdRistanen / Kirvesniemi / Karvonen

Note: 1 Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Juha Mieto". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  2. Finland. sports-reference.com
  3. "Athlete : MIETO Juha". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
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