Voitto Valdemar Hellsten (February 15, 1932 in Pertteli

Pertteli

Pertteli ; ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Salo on January 1, 2009.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region. The municipality had a population of 3,833 and covered an area of 156.08 km² of which 1.93 km² is...

 – December 7, 1998 in Turku

Turku

Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...

) was 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...

 athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres.

He competed for Finland in three Summer Olympics, in 1952, 1956 and 1960. In the 1956 Summer Olympics

Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics

At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, 33 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 9 for women. There were a total number of 720 participating athletes from 61 countries.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:**...

 held in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 he won the bronze medal in the 400 metres together with Soviet Ardalion Ignatyev

Ardalion Ignatyev

Ardalion Vasilyevich Ignatyev was a Soviet athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. He was born in the village of Novoye Toyderyakovo, Yalchiksky District, Chuvash ASSR....

.

Political career

Från 1962 to 1970, Voitto Hellsten was a member of the Finnish parliament

Parliament of Finland

The Eduskunta , is the parliament of Finland. The unicameral parliament has 200 members and meets in the Parliament House in Helsinki. The latest election to the parliament took place on April 17, 2011.- Constitution :...

, where he represented the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Finland

The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many...

.