Elin Pikkuniemi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 August 1895 |
| Died | 7 May 1988 (aged 92) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Skiing |
Elin Eugenia Pikkuniemi, (born 15 August 1895 Vojakkala, Sweden, died 7 May 1988 in Trönö, Sweden), was a Swedish cross-country skier and a primary-school teacher.
She was referred to as the first skiing queen of Sweden.[1] and was part of the Swedish female cross-country skiing elite in the years around 1920. She competed for IFK Haparanda, winning five Swedish national championships between 1918–1922 over a distance of 10 kilometers.[2] During the late 1920s she competed for Järla IF[1] and during the 1930s she competed for Hietaniemi SK.
During the Swedish Sports Confederation's 50th anniversary in 1953, the daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet held a vote for Sweden's greatest sportspersons, where approximately 500 readers voted, choosing 150 people in total. Amongst them was Elin Pikkuniemi as the only female.[3]