Anni Helena Takalo is a former Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 cross country skier. She was a part in dominating women's cross-country skiing in the 1970s, earning five Winter Olympic medals and four FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and since 1954 for women. Championship events include nordic skiing's three disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined...

 medals (golds in 5 km and 4 x 5 km (both 1978), and bronzes in 3 x 5 km (1970), 10 km (1974), and 20 km (1978).).

Takalo also won the women's 5 km at the Holmenkollen ski festival

Holmenkollen ski festival

The Holmenkollen Ski Festival is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. It takes place in March and has been arranged every year since 1892, except for 1898 and during World War II...

 in 1976. For her cross country skiing successes, she earned the Holmenkollen medal

Holmenkollen medal

The Holmenkollen medal is Norwegian skiing's highest award for competitors. It signifies top placings in international championships and other international events, including the Holmenkollen events....

 in 1977 (Shared with Hilkka Riihivuori and Walter Steiner

Walter Steiner

Walter Steiner is a Swiss ski jumper who was active in the 1970's.Steiner earned a ski jumping silver medal in the Individual large hill at the 1972 Winter Olympics...

).