This 44-Year-Old Olympic Athlete and Mother of Three Kicks Sarah Palin's "Hockey Mom" Butt

Where do we even begin with Riika Valila? 

1) Finnish ice hockey champ Riikka Valila is an insanely talented athlete and four-time Olympian, currently competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

2) Riikka Valila (aka Hanna-Riikka Nieminen-Välilä) is 44 years old. Did we mention she's still competing in the Olympics?

3) Riikka Valila has three kids, and had her youngest at age 35—which counts as advanced maternal age, albeit barely, and also advances the "she's a champ" theme. Raising three kids should be its own Olympic sport, but that's another blog post.

4) Riikka's team lost to the U.S. women's ice hockey team yesterday, but her presence on the ice made it hard not to keep eyes glued on this Finnish phenom.

After the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where Valila became the oldest female ice hockey player ever to score at a Winter Olympics game, she was quoted as saying: “I don't have to prove anything to myself or anybody else. I just enjoy playing. I really love to train, to improve my body and it's lots of fun to get the feeling that I am getting better on the ice and I can help the team.”

5) While Riikka Valila doesn't deserve to be subjected to the tiresome "How do you do it all?" questions that moms (but not dads) who excel at their jobs always seem to get, she's still the most incredible "hockey mom" we can imagine. Sorry, Sarah Palin fans (if you're not all in hiding right now). Palin may be a proud "hockey mom," but Riikka kicks her butt all the way to Finland, and back again.

Catch Riikka Valila in action when Finland plays Canada at 2:40 a.m. on Tuesday, February 13: Here's how to watch the game.

Photo of Finland women's ice hockey team in 2014 (Riikka Valila in foreground) by Sander van Ginkel via Wikimedia Commons.