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Riikka Sallinen
Winning Olympic ice-hockey medals twenty years apart for Finland.
Nagano bronze · PyeongChang bronze
- Born
- 12 June 1973
- Birthplace
- Jyväskylä, Finland
More people
Riikka Sallinen
Riikka Sallinen is a Finnish former ice-hockey player whose international career spanned the early years of the women’s world championship and a late-career Olympic return.
Early life
Sporting family
Her father and brothers competed in Finnish sports, including pesäpallo and ice hockey.
Multiple sports
Competed in bandy, rinkball and pesäpallo as well as ice hockey.
Career
- 1989
International beginnings
Represented Finland in the European championship.
- 1998
Olympic debut
Led the inaugural women’s Olympic hockey tournament in scoring.
- 2013
Comeback
Returned to elite hockey after a long absence.
- 2019
Final world championship
Helped Finland win silver before retiring.
Achievements
Nagano bronze
Scored 12 points as Finland won an Olympic medal.
PyeongChang bronze
Won another Olympic bronze at age 44.
Hockey Hall of Fame
Became its first inducted woman born outside North America.
Beyond sport
Physiotherapy
Trained as a physical therapist and worked in rehabilitation.
Family life
Raised two sons during the years between her international playing spells.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Further source: hhof.com ↗Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.