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Erki Nool

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Erki Nool
Nool in 2011
Personal information
Full nameErki Nool
Born (1970-06-25) 25 June 1970 (age 54)
Võru, Estonia
Height1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight84 kg (185 lb)
Sport
Country Estonia
SportTrack and field
EventDecathlon
Achievements and titles
Personal bests8815 NR (Edmonton 2001) [1]
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing EstoniaEstonia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Decathlon
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2001 Edmonton Decathlon
World Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place 1997 Paris Bercy Heptathlon
Silver medal – second place 1999 Maebashi Heptathlon
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1998 Budapest Decathlon
Silver medal – second place 2002 Munich Decathlon
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 1996 Stockholm Heptathlon
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Ghent Heptathlon
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Wien Heptathlon

Erki Nool (born 25 June 1970, in Võru, Estonia) is an Estonian decathlete and former politician.

Life and career

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Nool grew up in an impoverished environment in the southern part of Võru. His father was a worker in a furniture factory and his mother was in charge of the finances of a school. There were six children, with Erki the third youngest. When he was 13, from the suggestion of his father he moved to a sports-focused boarding school, where he could eat a free warm meal three times a day.[1]

In those days the economy was in a poor condition. When traveling to over-seas competitions, they didn't get their own cabin in the cruise ship, but instead just slept in the hallways and then competed and trained the next day. They also didn't have indoor athletics training facilities for winter. Nool was brought to tears when he was gifted a new, pristine pair of sneakers. [1]

After Estonia became independent on 20 August 1991, Nool was vocal about his dream of competing in the Olympics as part of the Estonian team. He took part in the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics decathlon but he ended up having to stop and pull out.[1] Little by little he developed and by the mid-1990s he was among the top athletes in decathlon.[1] In September 1997 he founded his own sports club and in 1998–2009 he organized international decathlon competition "Reval Hotels Cup".[2]

When he won gold for decathlon at the 1998 Budapest European Championships, he became a sports hero. Two years later, when he won the gold medal for decathlon in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he became a national hero.[1] Although Nool did not place first in any individual event, his total score was the highest. There was a dramatic moment in discus throw, but luckily the competition referee decided to over-rule a judge, who had red-flagged his last and only valid attempt due to alleged step-out. The reinstatement of his 43.66-metre third throw sparked unsuccessful counter-protests from other teams. Nool took gold ahead of the Czech Roman Šebrle and American Chris Huffins. [3][4]

He has been voted as Estonia's sexiest man and in the 2000s the most popular Estonian.[1] In 2006, Nool participated as a celebrity contestant on the first season of Tantsud tähtedega, an Estonian version of Dancing with the Stars. His professional dancing partner was Ave Vardja.[5]

2005–2017, Erki Nool was the Vice Chairman of the EOC Athletes Commission and 2007–2011 member of the European Athletics Development Committee. 2008–2012, he was also member of the executive committee of the Estonian Olympic Committee.[2]

On 4 March 2007, Nool was elected to the Estonian Parliament, the Riigikogu, representing the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica.[6] He has since left politics and now focuses on his real estate business and athletics school, with 450 students.[1]

His son Robin Nool (born in 1998) is pole vaulter with a record of 5.40 m.[1][7]

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Result
Representing  Estonia
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain — Decathlon DNF
1994 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 10th Decathlon 7953 pts
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 4th Decathlon 8268 pts
World Indoor Championships Barcelona, Spain 7th Heptathlon 5887 pts
1996 European Indoor Championships Stockholm, Sweden 1st Heptathlon 6188 pts
Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 6th Decathlon 8543 pts
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece 6th Decathlon 8413 pts
World Indoor Championships Paris, France 2nd Heptathlon 6213 pts
1998 European Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st Decathlon 8667 pts
IAAF World Combined Events Challenge 1st Decathlon 25,967 pts
1999 World Indoor Championships Maebashi, Japan 2nd Heptathlon 6374 pts
World Championships Seville, Spain 14th Decathlon 7568 pts
2000 European Indoor Championships Ghent, Belgium 3rd Heptathlon 6200 pts
Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 1st Decathlon 8641 pts
IAAF World Combined Events Challenge 1st Decathlon 26,089 pts
2001 World Indoor Championships Lisboa, Portugal 5th Heptathlon 6074 pts
World Championships Edmonton, Canada 2nd Decathlon 8815 pts
IAAF World Combined Events Challenge 2nd Decathlon 25,839 pts
Goodwill Games Brisbane, Australia 3rd Decathlon 8323 pts
2002 European Indoor Championships Vienna, Austria 3rd Heptathlon 6084 pts
European Championships Munich, Germany 2nd Decathlon 8438 pts
2003 World Championships Paris, France — Decathlon DNF
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 8th Decathlon 8235 pts
World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 5th Heptathlon 6093 pts
2005 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 12th Heptathlon 5712 pts

Personal bests

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Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

As of May 26, 2024
Event Performance Location Date Points
Decathlon 8,815 points Edmonton August 7, 2001 8,815 points
100 meters 10.34 (+3.2 m/s) w Haapsalu August 16, 1997 1,013 points
Long jump 8.22 m (26 ft 11+1⁄2 in) (+3.0 m/s) w Tallinn June 15, 1996 1,117 points
Shot put 15.11 m (49 ft 6+3⁄4 in) Sydney September 27, 2000 796 points
High jump 2.05 m (6 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Lipetsk February 9, 1991 850 points
400 meters 46.23 Sydney August 6, 2001 997 points
110 meters hurdles 14.37 (-0.1 m/s) Götzis Jun3 4, 2000 927 points
Discus throw 45.28 m (148 ft 6+1⁄2 in) Arles June 8, 2003 773 points
Pole vault 5.60 m (18 ft 4+1⁄4 in) Tallinn July 5, 1998 1100 points
Javelin throw 71.91 m (235 ft 11 in) New York City July 20, 1998 919 points
1500 meters 4:29.48 Sydney September 28, 2000 748 points
Virtual Best Performance 9,240 points

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Silvennoinen, Santtu (25 June 2020). "Kun köyhä Erki rantautui Suomeen, KGB oli kintereillä – tamperelaisen rakennusmestarin upea teko sai itkun silmään: "Virolaisia luultiin varkaiksi"". Iltalehti. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Erki Nool's sports biography". esbl.ee.
  3. ^ "Täna 20 aastat tagasi tuli Erki Nool Sydney olümpiavõitjaks". ERR. 28 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Täna 20 aastat tagasi: Erki Nool tuli Sydney olümpiavõitjaks". Eesti Kergejõustikuliit. 28 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Nool ja Vardja langesid tantsusaatest välja". Postimees. 20 November 2006.
  6. ^ "Erki Nool politician career on Riigikogu.ee". Riigikogu.
  7. ^ "Robin Nool". World Athletics. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erki Nool.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Estonian Sportsman of the Year
1996–1998 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Estonian Sportsman of the Year
2000 		Succeeded by
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for  Estonia
2004 Athens 		Succeeded by
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