Ritva Kaija Hannele Melender (née Lemettinen, born 9 September 1960 in Ylistaro) is a retired female marathon runner from Finland. She represented Finland at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, finishing in 14th place in the women's marathon. She twice won the Chicago Marathon, in 1993 and 1995. Her personal best time is 2:28:00 set at the London Marathon in 1995. This is also the current Finnish national record.

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Finland
1990	European Championships	Split, SFR Yugoslavia	9th	Marathon	2:39.42
1991	Honolulu Marathon	Honolulu, Hawaii	1st	Marathon	2:40:11
1992	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	14th	Marathon	2:41:48
1993	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	18th	Marathon	2:45:05
	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	1st	Marathon	2:33:18
1994	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	6th	Marathon	2:33.05
1995	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	1st	Marathon	2:28:27
	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	5th	Marathon	2:31:19