Leah Poulos-Mueller

Poulos participated in the 1980 Winter Olympics, where she competed in the 500 m and the 1000 m, winning silver in both.

In 1980, Poulos-Mueller won silver again at the World Sprint Championships.

After partially retiring from skating, in September 1977, Poulos married Peter Mueller, who had also won a gold medal on the 1000 m at the 1976 Winter Olympics. She then retired in earnest and then came out of retirement three years later to participate in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The couple was known to coach each other through training. Subsequent to winner her string of medals, Poulos-Mueller retired from her Olympic career in order to support her husband's career and training and to prioritize her family values. Throughout her career as an Olympian, she also maintained a part-time career as a sales representative for Coca-Cola.

Poulos participated in the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck and she entered in three distances. The first race was the 1500 m, in which she finished 6th. The next day, she skated the 500 m and finished 4th – only 0.04 seconds away from a bronze medal. The day after that, she won silver on the 1000 m, behind world record holder Tatyana Averina, and ahead of her compatriot Sheila Young, who took the bronze medal. Later that year, she won silver at the World Sprint Championships, behind Sheila Young.

In 1976 and 1977, Poulos-Mueller won silver again at the World Sprint Championships. In 1977, she won just behind Sylvia Burka. Poulos-Mueller retired from competition for one year when she married Peter Mueller. She returned to competition in 1979 and immediately became World Sprint Champion again. At this point, Poulos-Mueller was considered the best in the world in the women's 500 meter category. The following year, Poulos-Mueller finished second at the World Sprint Championships.

Poulos competed in several World Allround Championships. Her first World Championship title came in 1974 when she became World Sprint Champion.

Poulos specialized in sprint events and made her international debut at the World Sprint Championships (then called the ISU Sprint Championships) in 1970, where she won a silver medal in the 500 meter event.

In the early years, Poulos was a member of the Northbrook Speedskating Club in Northbrook, Illinois where many Olympians were trained. The club was founded in 1952 and resulted in Northbrook being dubbed as the Speedskating Capital of the World. More than twenty skaters from the club went on to the Olympic Games, and at least five skaters were recipients of various medals.

Leah Jean Poulos-Mueller (née Poulos, born October 5, 1951) is an American retired Olympic Games medalist in speed skating with a total of 3 Olympic silver medals won between 1972 and 1980. She garnered more than 65 Olympic, world, and international speed skating medals and titles during an illustrious career that spanned 12 competitive years and three Olympic teams.