Wilma Anna Helena Heltelä (née Murto; born 11 June 1998) is a Finnish pole vaulter. She won the gold medal at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich with a jump of , equalling the championships record and setting a new Finnish record. Heltelä also claimed victory at the 2023 European Indoor Championships, making her the first Finnish woman in history to win gold at these championships.
She was the 2016 World Under-20 Championships and 2017 European U20 Championships bronze medallist. Heltelä currently holds Finnish national records out and indoors and world U20 indoor record of .
Career Wilma Heltelä made her international debut at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics held in Eugene, Oregon at the age of sixteen. On 27 December 2015, she cleared a new best of , which represented a European youth (under-18s) best.
On 31 January 2016, the 17-year-old set a new indoor world junior (under-20s) record in Zweibrücken, Germany, where she jumped . This result was also a new Finnish national record, beating Minna Nikkanen's previous best by .
In the following years, Heltelä struggled with form and it took her until the 2021 season to improve the record further, when she cleared at the Finnish Championships. Also in the same season, she finished fifth at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, her best senior championship result up to that point.
At the 2022 European Athletics Championships final, Heltelä cleared three Finnish records to take her first senior international championship medal, a gold. She improved her outdoor best with a remarkable 13 centimetres to . This mark equalled also the championship record of Katerina Stefanidi, who took silver this time behind Heltelä. Also in 2022, she placed sixth at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
On 7 January 2023, she improved her own 6-year-old Finnish indoor record, clearing world-leading on her first attempt in Kuortane. Heltelä bettered her record at the European Indoor Championships held in March in Istanbul, soaring clear at on her first attempt for the gold medal.
Statistics Personal bests Pole vault – (Munich 2022) Pole vault indoor – (Istanbul 2023) Pole vault indoor U20 – (Zweibrücken 2016)
International competitions
Wilma Heltelä at the women's pole vault final at the European Athletics Championships in Munich on 17 August 2022.
2014World Junior ChampionshipsEugene, OR, United States25th (q)3.75 m2015European Indoor ChampionshipsPrague, Czech Republic–DNSEuropean Junior ChampionshipsEskilstuna, Sweden–NH2016European ChampionshipsAmsterdam, Netherlands7th4.45 mWorld U20 ChampionshipsBydgoszcz, Poland3rd4.40 mOlympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil24th (q)4.30 m2017European Indoor ChampionshipsBelgrade, Serbia8th4.40 mEuropean U20 ChampionshipsGrosseto, Italy3rd4.15 m2018European ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany17th (q)4.35 m2019European Indoor ChampionshipsGlasgow, United Kingdom18th (q)4.10 mEuropean U23 ChampionshipsGävle, Sweden5th4.20 mEuropean Team Championships Super LeagueBydgoszcz, Poland8th4.21 mWorld ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar22nd (q)4.35 m2021European Indoor ChampionshipsToruń, Poland6th4.55 mOlympic GamesTokyo, Japan5th4.50 m2022World ChampionshipsEugene, OR, United States6th4.60 mEuropean ChampionshipsMunich, Germany1st4.85 m = 2023European Indoor ChampionshipsIstanbul, Turkey1st4.80 m World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary3rd4.80 m2024World Indoor ChampionshipsGlasgow, United Kingdom9th4.55 m European ChampionshipsRome, Italy8th4.43 mOlympic GamesParis, France6th4.70 m2025World ChampionshipsTokyo, Japan –NM2026World Indoor ChampionshipsToruń, Poland11th4.55 mEuropean ChampionshipsBirmingham, United Kingdom2nd4.75 m
National titles Finland-Sweden Athletics International Pole vault: 2023, 2026 Finnish Athletics Championships Pole vault: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Finnish Indoor Athletics Championships Pole vault: 2019, 2020
References
External links