Tiia Piili is a 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...

 gymnast who has won the Federation of International Sports, Aerobics and Fitness

Federation of International Sports, Aerobics and Fitness

The Federation of International Sports, Aerobics and Fitness is an international non-profit "umbrella organization" active in over 40 countries. It is self-described as "the largest fitness industry organisation in the world" and "the largest instructor certification agency in the world". The...

 (FISAF) sport aerobics

Sport Aerobics

Sport aerobics, officially called aerobic gymnastics, is the ability to perform continuously complex and high-intensity movement patterns to music—which originates from traditional aerobics—with a high degree of perfectly executed elements of difficulty. The routine must demonstrate...

 World Championship four times.

Early life

As a youngster, Piili pursued various sporting interests including ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

, rhythmic gymnastics

Rhythmic gymnastics

Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which individuals or teams of competitors manipulate one or two pieces of apparatus: rope, clubs, hoop, ball, ribbon and Free . An individual athlete only manipulates 1 apparatus at a time...

, artistic gymnastics

Artistic gymnastics

Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics where gymnasts perform short routines on different apparatus, with less time for vaulting . The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique , which designs the Code of Points and regulates all aspects of international elite...

 and tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

. She also played the piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 and had an interest in music and performance that she manifested as a member of a drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 club and a circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

 club. Her early interest in sports and music has been cited as a foundation for her future success in sports aerobics.

At age fourteen, after seeing sports aerobic on television for the first time, she became strongly interested in the sport but was barred from participation because of her age. At age sixteen she began training with the goal of competing when she turned eighteen. However, to her fortune a novice category for athletes ages sixteen to eighteen was introduced to the Finnish Championships that very year. Thus Piili was able to compete immediately.

Career

After graduating from secondary school in Lappeenranta, Piili moved to the town of Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä is the capital of Central Finland and the largest city on the Finnish Lakeland, north-east of Tampere and north of Helsinki, on northern coast of lake Päijänne. The city has been continuously one of the most rapidly growing cities in Finland since World War II. The city is surrounded...

 in Central Finland

Central Finland

Central Finland is a region in Finland. It borders to the regions Päijänne Tavastia, Pirkanmaa, Southern Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Northern Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia and Southern Savonia....

 to train. She won her first World Championship in 2001 at a competition held in Agadir

Agadir

Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

. While in Morocco for that competition, she consumed bacteria

Bacteria

Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...

-tainted food and developed a infection

Infection

An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...

 in her back that impeded her training for a period. She recovered and proceeded to win the 2004 World Championship in Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, the 2005 World Championship in Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

, Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, and the 2006 World Championship in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

.

In addition to her four World Championships, Piili is a four-time winner of the Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an Championship and a five-time winner of the Finnish Championship, and holds a total of fourteen World and European Championship medals.

In 2004, as the "most successful representative of Sports Aerobics", Piili was selected as "Aerobic athlete of the year" by the Finnish Sports Federation. She almost won the title of top Finnish athlete overall, but lost to the alpine skier Tanja Poutiainen

Tanja Poutiainen

Tanja Poutiainen is a Finnish alpine ski racer, the silver medalist in the women's giant slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino....

.

Piili has appeared twice on the Finnish game show

Game show

A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

 Kymppitonni. She also did a segment on the Finnish television show Fit 4 You in which she kickbikes up Paloheinä

Paloheinä

Paloheinä is one of four quarters of the Tuomarinkylä district in Northern Helsinki, Finland. Described by the municipality as "a place where habitation, traditional agricultural milieus, and the forest meet", the Paloheinä recreation area is the northern continuation of Helsingin keskuspuisto,...

 hill in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

.

She currently still lives in Jyväskylä, Central Finland.