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Sylvi Saimo

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Sylvi Saimo
Saimo at the 1952 Olympics
Personal information
Born12 November 1914
Jaakkima, Finland
Died12 March 2004 (aged 89)
Laukaa, Finland
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight59–62 kg (130–137 lb)
Sport
SportCanoe sprint
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki K-1 500 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1950 Copenhagen K-1 500 m
Gold medal – first place 1950 Copenhagen K-2 500 m

Sylvi Riitta Saimo (née Sikiö, 12 November 1914 – 12 March 2004) was a Finnish sprint canoeist. She was the first female Finnish Olympic Champion at the Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in K-1 500 m at the 1952 Summer Olympics. She also competed in cross-country skiing, athletics and orienteering. She was a member of the Finnish Parliament from 1966 to 1978.

Personal life

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Saimo was born in the former Finnish municipality of Jaakkima (currently Lakhdenpokhsky District, Russia) on 12 November 1914. She died in Laukaa in 2004.[1]

Sports career

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Saimo competed in several sports, including skiing, athletics, orienteering and canoeing.[1] She won a gold medal in the K-1 500 m event at the 1952 Summer Olympics and finished sixth in 1948.[2] That was first and only gold medal by Finnish woman at Summer Olympics,[1] until Heli Rantanen won the javelin throw contest in 1996.

Saimo also won two gold medals at the 1950 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Copenhagen, earning them in the K-1 500 m and K-2 500 m events (in K-2, jointly with Greta Grönholm).[1]

Other sports achievements include winning a bronze medal at the Finnish championship in orienteering in 1939. In cross-country skiing, she won a bronze medal in the relay at the Finnish championships in 1947, while placing 5th individually in the 10 km distance.[1]

Political career

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Saimo was elected representative to the Finnish Parliament for the Centre Party from 1966 to 1978.[1][3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Björkman, Ingmar. "Saimo Sylvi". In Ekberg, Henrik (ed.). Uppslagsverket Finland (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sylvi Saimo". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Sylvi Saimo". www.eduskunta.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 December 2019.
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