Gerd Kanter
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| Born |
May 6, 1979 Tallinn, Estonia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 127 kg (280 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country |
 Estonia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Discus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gerd Kanter (born 6 May 1979) is an Estonian discus thrower. He was the 2007 World Champion in the event and won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and bronze in London 2012. His personal best throw of 73.38 m is the Estonian record and the third best mark of all-time.
He made his first Olympic appearance in 2004 and established himself a year later by taking the silver medal at the 2005 World Championships. He was runner-up at the 2006 European Athletics Championships and won further medals at the World Championships in 2009 (bronze) and 2011 (silver).
He won the 2012 and the 2013 IAAF Diamond League in discus throw.
Career
He competed at the 2004 Olympics, but did not reach the final. The season 2005 was his breakthrough year as he won silver medals at the World Championships and World Athletics Final, took home a victory in the European Cup and won the World University Games. He also threw more than 70 metres for the first time.
On September 4, 2006, in Helsingborg, Sweden, Kanter threw more than 70 metres in four different rounds (69.46 – 72.30 – 70.43 – 73.38 – 70.51 – 65.88). The best mark of 73.38 m was an Estonian record and the third best in history – only Jürgen Schult (74.08 m, 1986) and Virgilijus Alekna (73.88 m, 2000) have thrown further.[1]
Kanter was the silver medalist at the 2006 European Athletics Championships, finishing behind Virgilijus Alekna, and became the world champion in the discus at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he took Olympicgold medal with a throw of 68.82 meters, one meter ahead of second-place finisher Piotr Malachowski of Poland.
In March 2009 he won the European Cup Winter Throwing event in Los Realejos, Tenerife, Spain with 69.70 m. On 22 March 2009, he set a world indoor best of 69.51 m in Växjö, Sweden.[2] At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics he returned to defend his world title. He had a best throw of 66.88 m, which was enough for the World bronze medal.[3] He took victory in the Wexiö Indoor Throwing competition in 2010, although his winning throw was some way behind his indoor record set the previous year.[4] Still, he started strongly outdoors, having a long early-season throw of 71.45 m in California – the eleventh best throw ever at that point.[5]
He finished just outside of the medals at the 2010 European Athletics Championships, coming fourth, but managed to win the silver medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics behind Robert Harting. He ended that year with a season's best throw of 67.99 m at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial.[6]
Achievements
Orders
References
- ↑ Butcher, Michael (2006-09-05). Kanter 73.38m in Helsingborg. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-10-01.
- ↑ Kanter throws 69.51m world indoor best in Växjö
- ↑ Jalava, Mirko (2009-08-19). Event Report – Men's Discus Throw – Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-08-22. Archived 2009-09-08.
- ↑ Augustsson, Bert (2010-03-28). Kanter a little below par indoors. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-29.
- ↑ Kanter throws a stunning 71.45m in California. European Athletics (2010-04-30). Retrieved on 2010-04-30.
- ↑ Juck, Alfons (2011-09-21). Kanter throws 67.99m in Warsaw. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-10-01.
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20041105131040/http://www.eaa-athletics.ch/ech-u23-2001/results/MT2DXXH101.htm
- ↑ John Branch (2008-08-24). "Estonia’s Kanter Celebrates Gold Medal in the Discus His Way". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-25.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gerd Kanter. |
- Gerd Kanter profile at IAAF
- KANTER rzutyiskoki.pl
- NBC Olympics – Athlete profile
- Gerd Kanter official page
- Gerd Kanter page
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Andrus Veerpalu Nikolai Novosjolov |
Estonian Sportsman of the Year 2007, 2008 2011 |
Succeeded by Andrus Veerpalu Heiki Nabi |
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