| Susanna Rahkamo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Rahkamo at 2011 World Figure Skating Championships in Synchronized Skating | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 25 February 1965 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Finland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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 | This biographical article is written like a résumé .(June 2023) |
Dr. Susanna Rahkamo (born 25 February 1965) is a Finnish former competitive figure skater, sports leader and leadership consultant.
Susanna Rahkamo holds a PhD (Aalto University, Industrial Engineering) and a Master's degree in Food Science and Economics (University of Helsinki). [1] [2] Rahkamo’s doctoral dissertation in the research field of management, organizations and work psychology examines the impact of creative thinking in the process of acquiring exceptional expertise. According to her study, six critical factors are needed in the process: questioning and playing with thought; insight; systemic application; faith in self; inner drive; and persistent work. Dr.Rahkamo offered this conclusion: Little sparks of insights appear little by little through collaboration, seeing, probing and reflecting, affecting an exclusive perspective, understanding, view and allowing holistic insights to develop. Therefore, building excellence is a collective activity merging many peoples' knowing together. [3]
Rahkamo competed with Petri Kokko in ice dancing winning the European Championship and World Championship silver in 1995, the World Championship bronze in 1994 and the European Championship bronze in 1993. The couple competed twice in the Olympics, in 1992 in Albertville (6th place) and in 1994 in Lillehammer (4th place). They were nine times national champions between 1987-1995. After 1995, Rahkamo and Kokko became professionals. They skated in various shows and competitions for five years until they ended their careers in Finland with the Tango Cafe tour at the end of 2000. During their professional years, the pair participated in numerous professional competitions in the United States. In the 1995-1996 season, the couple toured with the highly successful Stars on Ice show in the United States.
The couple also produced ice skating tours, shows and TV productions in Finland, Germany and the United States. Their TV series Susanna and Petri on Ice on MTV3 ran for two seasons MTV3. In 1996, the couple performed in a music video for the band Enigma. Rahkamo and Kokko left their mark on the ice dance in so many ways. The International Skating Union (ISU) commissioned them to develop a new compulsory dance from a quickstep rhythm dance they had used from 1994-99 in competitions. This Finnstep was included in the ISU program for the period 2008-2009. [4] It was ratified in June 2008 as the Finnstep at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. In the period 2020–2021, the Finnstep was also the mandatory part of short dance.
Dr. Rahkamo was President of the Finnish Figure Skating Association from 2004 to 2014 for a total of five terms. During her presidency, Finnish figure skating was internationally successful. Three different women skaters won nine Championship medals, five of them gold. Synchronized skating also blossomed during Dr. Rahkamo’s presidency with a grand total of thirteen medals at the World championships in Synchronized Skating. During her term, Finland organized three financially and athletically successful Championships in which Laura Lepistö won the European Championship gold and Susanna Pöykiö bronze. [5] At the Synchronized World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki in 2011, Finnish teams the Rockettes brought gold and Marigold Ice Unity silver. At the end of the season, Dr. Rahkamo was successful in applying for the 2017 World Championships in Finland.
Since November 2008, she has served on the Board of the Finnish Olympic Committee and since 2012 as its Vice President. In 2014, Rahkamo was elected Chairman of the Olympic Culture and Legacy Commission of the EOC (European Olympic Committee). [6] During her term, the Commission's mission has been to promote the Olympic values. To further this mission, the Commission created the European Young Olympic Ambassadors program for young future sport leaders to engage with the European Youth Olympic Festival participants to learn about Olympic values. The fourth training program began in the summer of 2020. [7]
In 2016, Dr. Rahkamo was selected by the International Skating Union (ISU) to lead their strategic flagship project, the Development Commission. The Commission supports local and regional development projects for all three ISU disciplines (Short Track, Speed Skating, Figure Skating) in ISU member countries. Two major accomplishments are the creation of the global ISU Centers of Excellence network and the ISU e-learning. [8] In 2020 Rahkamo was appointed to the steering group of the ISU Digital Development and AI Group. [9] [10]
Since 2005, Dr. Rahkamo has worked as a leadership consultant and since 2010 as a senior partner at Pertec Consulting specializing in management consulting. In the autumn of 2019, she sold Pertec Consulting Oy to Hälsa Oy. In 2021, she joined with two other partners to form Yellow Method Oy, which gathers data and insights about the creative potential of organizations.
Rahkamo and Kokko married in 1995 and have two children. Rahkamo is the daughter of politician Lord Mayor of Helsinki, Kari Rahkamo.
| Season | Original set pattern / Original dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 |
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| 1993–94 |
by Don Ralke | ||
| 1992–93 |
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| 1991–92 |
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| 1990–91 |
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| 1989–90 |
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| International | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 85–86 | 86–87 | 87–88 | 88–89 | 89–90 | 90–91 | 91–92 | 92–93 | 93–94 | 94–95 |
| Olympics | 6th | 4th | ||||||||
| Worlds | 20th | 20th | 13th | 6th | 7th | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | |
| Europeans | 18th | 18th | 15th | 12th | 7th | 8th | 6th | 3rd | 4th | 1st |
| Skate America | 2nd | |||||||||
| Skate Canada | 1st | |||||||||
| Int. de Paris | 3rd | |||||||||
| Golden Spin | 6th | |||||||||
| Moscow News | 14th | |||||||||
| Piruetten | 1st | |||||||||
| National | ||||||||||
| Finnish Champ. | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||||
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when it was contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance; the four individual disciplines are also combined into a team event, which was first included in the Winter Olympics in 2014. The non-Olympic disciplines include synchronized skating, Theater on Ice, and four skating. From intermediate through senior-level competition, skaters generally perform two programs, which, depending on the discipline, may include spins, jumps, moves in the field, lifts, throw jumps, death spirals, and other elements or moves.
Synchronized skating, often called synchro, is an ice skating sport where between 5 and 20 skaters perform together as a team. They move as a flowing unit at high speed over the ice, while performing elements and footwork.
The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands, in July 1892, making it one of the oldest international sport federations. The ISU was formed to establish standardized international rules and regulations for the skating disciplines it governs, and to organize international competitions in these disciplines. It is now based in Switzerland.
Maurizio Margaglio is an Italian ice dancing coach and former competitor. With partner Barbara Fusar-Poli, he is the 2001 World champion, 2001 European champion, and 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. They won nine Italian titles and competed at three Olympics.
Susanna Pöykiö is a Finnish former figure skater. She is a two-time European medalist and a five-time Finnish national champion.
Petri Kokko is a Finnish former competitive ice dancer. He competed with Susanna Rahkamo, his wife. With Rahkamo, he is the 1995 European champion, 1995 World silver medalist, and competed in the Winter Olympics twice.
Figure skating was first contested in the Olympic Games at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Since 1924, the sport has been a part of the Winter Olympic Games.
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Laura Anneli Lepistö is a Finnish former competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 world bronze medalist, the 2009 European champion, and a two-time Finnish national champion.
The ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships (WSSC) are the world championships for the sport of synchronized skating. Held since 2000, the World Synchronized Skating Championships is an annual event organized by the International Skating Union and attracts the most elite senior-level synchronized skating teams from around the world to compete for the World Championship.
The 2009 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2008–09 season. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event was held from 20 to 25 January 2009 at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland.
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Szilárd Tóth is a Hungarian former competitive ice dancer. With Enikő Berkes, he is the 1993 Golden Spin of Zagreb bronze medalist and 1994 national champion. They represented Hungary at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
The 2010 European Figure Skating Championships was a senior international figure skating competition in the 2009–10 season. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The event was held at the Saku Suurhall Arena in Tallinn, Estonia from 18 to 24 January 2010.
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Matthias Versluis is a Finnish figure skater. Competing in ice dancing with Juulia Turkkila, he is the 2023 European bronze medalist, 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo bronze medalist, 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy gold medalist, and a three-time Finnish national champion.
This article contains lists of achievements in major international figure skating competitions according to first-place, second-place and third-place results obtained by skaters/teams representing different nations. The objective is not to create combined medal tables; the focus is on listing the best positions achieved by skaters/teams in major international competitions, ranking the nations according to the most number of podiums accomplished by skaters/teams of these nations. All five competitive disciplines currently recognized by the International Skating Union (ISU) are covered: 1) Men's single skating, 2) Ladies' single skating, 3) Pair skating, 4) Ice dance, and 5) Synchronized skating. The four disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating and ice dance also appeared as part of a team event at the Winter Olympic Games.
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