Hilkka Riihivuori née Kuntola (born 24 December 1952 in Jurva

Jurva

Jurva is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated to Kurikka on 1 January 2009.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 4,611 and covered an area of 447.18 km² of which 3.11 km² is water...

, Southern Ostrobothnia

Southern Ostrobothnia

Southern Ostrobothnia is one of the 20 regions of Finland.Seinäjoki is the regional centre and by far the largest city in the area.- Historical provinces :For History, Geography and Culture see: Ostrobothnia- Municipalities :...

) 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...

  former cross country skier who competed during the 1970s and 1980s. She competed in three Winter Olympics, earning a total of four medals (1972 and 1976 under her maiden name and 1980 under her married name.). Riihivuori also competed several times 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...

, winning twice at 10 km (1974, 1980) and once at 5 km (1977).

Riihivuori's biggest success was at the 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...

, where she won 2 medals in 10 km (silver: 1982, bronze: 1978), a gold medal in the 4 x 5 km (1978), and two silver medals in 5 km (1978, 1982).

For her successes in Nordic skiing World Championships and at the Holmenkollen, Kuntola received 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 Helena Takalo 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...

.).