Juha Mieto


Juha Iisakki Mieto 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 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.
Mieto won four medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, with silvers in the 30 km and the 4 × 10 km relay, and bronzes in the 15 km and the 4 × 10 km relay. His biggest success as a cross-country skier was at the Holmenkollen ski festival where he won the 50 km once and the 15 km five times. 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.

Olympic Games

Season standings

Individual podiums

No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlace
1 1982–83 10 February 1983 Igman, Yugoslavia15 km IndividualWorld Cup2nd

Team podiums

No.SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlaceTeammates
1 1981–82 25 February 1982 Oslo, Norway4 × 10 km RelayWorld Championships3rdHärkönen / Karvonen / Kirvesniemi
2 1983–84 16 February 1984 Sarajevo, Yugoslavia4 × 10 km RelayOlympic Games3rdRistanen / 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.