Juha Väätäinen

Juha Väätäinen (born July 12, 1941 in Piippola) is a former Finnish athlete. He is the winner of the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter gold medals at the 1971 European Championships held in Helsinki.

The 10,000m final is regarded by many as one of the greatest distance races of all time. In front of a highly excited Finnish crowd Väätäinen was in a group of six runners at the final bell following Britain's David Bedford, who had led from the start. Going down the back straight Väätäinen and the East German Jürgen Haase both kicked past Bedford in a thrilling last lap "burn-up" bringing the crowd to its feet as they battled neck and neck to the line with Väätainen just edging out Haase in a time of 27m 52s. Väätäinen's jubilant supporters swarmed onto the track and threw him into the air in celebration.

Väätäinen participated in the 5,000-meter 1972 Summer Olympics event in Munich in which he finished last in the final, due to a groin injury, in a field of thirteen runners.

He was the eldest of a pack of resurging successful Finnish runners that came into the limelight in the 1970s that included Lasse Virén, Pekka Vasala, Tapio Kantanen, Martti Vainio, and Kaarlo Maaninka.