Deceased on Friday Siiri Rantanen is one of the most significant figures in Finnish sports history.
Rantanen was a pioneer when women were first allowed to compete in cross-country skiing at the Olympics in Oslo in 1952. At that time, Rantanen skied to bronze in the Games by Lydia Wideman and Mirja Hietamienen double cloth.
The jackpot came four years later in Cortina. Rantanen led Finland to Olympic victory in the relay. Rantanen went after the anchor of the Soviet Union Radja Jeroshina at least 10 seconds behind, but there was a difference of 27 seconds at the finish line.
– What? Finland in the lead? That was amazing information. Isn’t this Jeroshina in full steel? Siiri Rantanen leads! Finland leads the competition! Narrated the competition on the radio Pekka Tiilikainen amazed.
– I don’t even dare to speak now. Do we have realities for a gold medal? No one could believe it.
When Rantanen crossed the finish line, Tiilikainen waxed poetic.
– The Finnish jänner has proven better than the Soviet Union or other countries, Tiilikainen says.
The victory is the first and still the only one from Finland in the women’s ski relay at the Olympics.
Before the relay race in individual 10 km skiing, the lubrication of the skis failed. The coaching management had decided that the combined men had been allowed to grease the skis for the female skiers.
– You couldn’t get anywhere on skis when the combined boys greased them, Rantanen recalled in the Äitee documentary found on Areena.
Rantanen no longer allowed the combined athletes to oil his skis, but had informed the national team management that he would oil his own skis for the relay.
A news film was also made about the gold medalist’s return to Finland. Siiri Rantanen had previously sent greetings to his spouse on the radio’s Welcome to morning coffee broadcast Kalle Rantanenthat “don’t mess with that laundry.”
When ‘s film crew visited the spot with the Olympic champion, the laundry had, however, been washed before the athlete’s return home.
Siiri Rantanen was able to unpack her suitcase in peace and give special treats to her children.
The meaning is much bigger than just medals
Born in Tohmajärvi, Rantanen won eight medals in his career. At the 1958 World Championships in Lahti, Rantanen won two medals in front of the home crowd: silver in the relay and bronze in the sprint.
However, Rantanen’s importance to the history of Finnish sports lies far beyond the medals.
Back in the 1950s, women’s skiing was not valued in the same way as it is today. Rantanen paved the way for the fact that today Finnish women are basically in the same position as men on the ski slopes.
The scriptwriter and director of the play Mother and competing sisters Timo Taulon according to the 1950s, it was thought that a woman’s place in society was not on the ski slopes.
– There was a time when the male doctor of the Skiing Association instructed female skiers not to ski during menstruation, Taulo described in 2019.
The Äitee nickname also reflects how Siiri Rantanen broke glass ceilings. In the 1950s, it was rare for women to ski competitively after giving birth. However, Rantanen was particularly successful as a mother. He also got a nickname from his teammates due to his personality, which has continued to this day.
Olympic champion, well-known Finnish skiing voice, Sami Jauhojärvi considers Rantanen’s importance very high in Finnish sports history, but also internationally for women in sports history.
– He was a pioneer in that he set out to push for equality. She was also an example that a mother can also be an athlete. You didn’t have to be without a family or at least childless to be able to ski. Its meaning is huge. It may not be understood in Finland how enormous the power of Siiri Rantanen’s example has been internationally, says Jauhojärvi.
The two got to know each other when Jauhojärvi moved to the Lahti region five years ago.
– Siiri was not interested in what belongs to our sons, but what belongs to our daughters, Jauhojärvi illustrates Rantanen’s attitude.
Dance as a great passion
Rantanen won a total of 11 Finnish championships in skiing. On top of that, he also won the Finnish championships in cross-country running and road cycling.
Dance was also a great passion of the athlete from Lahti. When Urheilu met Rantanen before the 2017 World Championships, he also danced with ‘s reporter.
– You are in better shape for dancing than I am. You don’t even have to go to the track, reporter Petri Sjöblom praised the skiing legend.
Sami Jauhojärvi also remembers Mother’s enthusiasm for dancing and especially polka.
– When the music started playing, his knee started to shake and he hoped that “the fire would stomp”, says Jauhojärvi.
Rantanen was also known for his witty humor. When he and Lydia Wideman-Lehtonen was honored in 2017 at the Sports Gala with Life Career awards, saw the skiing legend on stage with a twinkle in his eye.
– I’m not much of a speaker, but I thank everyone who was here. Lydia and I are old people, but the leg is still rising. The desire to go is strong! We will still go skiing, Rantanen said.
A couple of months later, Rantanen was able to ski a round of honor at the World Ski Championships in Lahti. The 92-year-old skiing legend received great honors from the Finnish public.
The President of the Republic, Sauli Niinistö, excited Rantanen’s gold skiing
Rantanen also got to meet the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö in 2020. Niinistö remembered Rantanen’s feats well.
– We had slightly different roles in Cortina in 1956. You skied as an anchor in the relay. I had my ear glued to the radio as a little boy. Of course I was wildly excited, Niinistö told Rantanen in the Äitee documentary.
The two discussed the impact of sports on the marginalization of young people in Mäntyniemi. Rantanen became known as an active runner in his last years. In 2019, at the age of 95, in her birthday interview with , “Äitee” described what it was like to run four kilometers every day.
– There are many kinds of exercise. You don’t always have to aim for the top. The main thing is that young people should move, that is, engage in some physical activity. It would maintain fitness and health, Niinistö told Rantanen.
Niinistö referred, for example, to another famous athlete from Lahti Jari Litmasenwho practiced a lot on his own.
– You learn from it, if it makes sense to take a model from the previous ones, Rantanen answered.
Niinistö told Rantanen about his own exercise hobbies. The President of the Republic told how to run a pole on the grounds of Mäntymä. Rantanen’s reaction to Niinistö’s story certainly speaks for itself of the skier’s tough nature.
– Otherwise, you would be a fat boy, but now you stay slim, Rantanen said in a warm meeting.
Above all, Rantanen is known for his positive attitude towards life.
– Siiri always had a positive perspective on everything. He came from very humble circumstances. Siiri was able to appreciate that he has risen to a much higher level in social appreciation than the starting points could have assumed, concludes Jauhojärvi.