Leah Poulos-Mueller
 Leah Poulos in 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born |
October 5, 1951 (age 65) Berwyn, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 59 kg (130 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Peter Mueller (divorced) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |
 United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Speed skating | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Leah Jean Poulos-Mueller (née Poulos, born October 5, 1951) is a former speed skater.
Poulos specialized in the sprint events and made her international debut at the World Sprint Championships (then called the ISU Sprint Championships) in 1970, where she won a silver medal in the 500 meter event. She also participated in several World Allround Championships and competed in the 1500 m and the 3000 m at the 1972 Winter Olympics. Her first World Championship title came in 1974 when she became World Sprint Champion.
Poulos participated in the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck and she entered in three distances. The first race was the 1500 m, in which she finished 6th. The next day, she skated the 500 m and finished 4th – only 0.04 seconds away from a bronze medal. The day after that, she won silver on the 1000 m, behind world record holder Tatyana Averina, and ahead of her compatriot Sheila Young, who took the bronze medal. Later that year, she won silver at the World Sprint Championships, behind Sheila Young.
In 1977, she won silver once more at the World Sprint Championships, this time behind Sylvia Burka. In September of that year, she married Peter Mueller – who had also won a medal on the 1000 m at the 1976 Winter Olympics (his being gold). Poulos-Mueller retired from competition for one year. She returned to competition in 1979 and immediately became World Sprint Champion again. The following year, Poulos-Mueller finished second at the World Sprint Championships and one week later, at the 1980 Winter Olympics, she participated in the 500 m and the 1000 m, winning silver in both.[1]
Poulos-Mueller was inducted into the National Speedskating Hall of Fame on 13 May 1988.
Medals
An overview of medals won by Poulos at important championships she participated in, listing the years in which she won each:[1]
| Championships | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 1976 (1000 m) 1980 (500 m) 1980 (1000 m) | ||
| World Allround | |||
| World Sprint | 1974 1979 | 1976 1977 1980 |
Personal records
| Personal records | ||||
| Women's speed skating | ||||
| Event | Result | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 m | 41.13 | January 13, 1980 | Eisstadion Davos, Davos | |
| 1000 m | 1:23.07 | January 21, 1980 | Eisstadion Davos, Davos | |
| 1500 m | 2:13.98 | January 31, 1976 | Eisstadion Davos, Davos | |
| 3000 m | 5:11.43 | January 26, 1976 | Pista Olimpica, Madonna di Campiglio | |
References
- 1 2 "Leah Poulos-Mueller". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.
External links
- Leah Poulos at SkateResults.com
- Personal records from Jakub Majerski's Speedskating Database
- The National Speedskating Museum and Hall of Fame
- Mid-America Speedskating Team – coached by Leah's father, Sam Poulos. Contains pictures of Leah in the Photo Gallery.