Mueller, Leah Poulos (1951—)
Mueller, Leah Poulos (1951—)
American speed skater. Name variations: Leah Poulos. Born Leah Poulos in Berwyn, Illinois, on October 5, 1951; married Peter Mueller (a speed skater).
Won numerous medals in international and Olympic competition; won three Olympic silver medals: in the 1,000 meters (1976), the 500 meters, and the 1,000 meters (1980).
Speed skater Leah Mueller had been competing for several years before she won an Olympic medal. At her first Olympics at Sapporo in 1972, she placed 17th in the 3,000 meters and 24th in the 1,500 meters. In 1976 in the Innsbruck Olympics, she moved to 6th in the 1,500 meters, 4th in the 500 meters, and won the silver in the 1,000 meters. After her marriage to Peter Mueller, a teammate who had won the gold in the men's 1,000 meters in Innsbruck, Mueller stopped competitive skating for two years, devoting her time to supporting her husband's training program. She returned to training in 1978 and won the World Sprint championship in 1979. In 1980 in Lake Placid, she competed in the 500 meters and the 1,000 meters, winning Olympic silver medals in both events. (Karin Kania-Enke took the 500-meters gold, while Natalia Petruseva of the Soviet Union won the gold in the 1,000 meters.)
Karin Loewen Haag , Athens, Georgia