A statue of Olympic cross-country ski champion Eero Mäntyranta stands in the centre of Pello. Eero Mäntyranta won gold both at the Squaw Valley (1960) and the Innsbruck (1964) Winter Olympics. Mäntyranta also won a bronze and silver medal at the Grenoble (1968) Winter Olympics. In addition to his skiing career, Mäntyranta was a reindeer herder and an active philanthropist.
