Finlandia-95

The 16th European Athletics Championships were held from 7 August to 14 August 1994 in the Olympic Stadium of Helsinki, Finland. Pia sent this lovely FDC which celebrated Finlandia-95 (an international stamp exhibition) with the  miniature sheet shown on the cover. This was also the occasion to commemorate the EuropeanChampionships in Atheletics. Finland did this through the stamps on this minisheet affixed to this attractive cover. The sports men and women on the stamps are:-

Riitta Salin won the European Championship in 400 meters in 1974. She also finished 7th in the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games.

Pirjo Häggman.  Twelve times Finnish champion in the 100m and 400m, Ms Haggman began competing at age fifteen. She participated in the European Championships in Athens in 1969, and again in Rome and Prague in 1974 and 1978, respectively.  

Lasse Viren. Lasse Artturi Virén (born July 22, 1949) is a former Finnish long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Born in Myrskylä, Finland, Virén recaptured the image of the "Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, Paavo Nurmi, and Ville Ritola in the 1920s.

Tiina Lillak. Tiina Lillak (born April 15, 1961 in Helsinki) is a former Finnish javelin thrower, who was among the best female javelin throwers in the world in the early and mid 1980s. While she has been credited for starting a string of successes for Finnish female Javelin thrower, her more notable accomplishments include winning a world championship and an Olympic medal. After retiring from athletics, Lillak began working as a masseuse.

Pentti Nikula (born 3 February 1939 in Somero) is a retired Finnish pole vaulter. During his career he won the European Championships and held the world record.