Kristina Šmigun-Vähi

Kristina Šmigun-Vähi
Kristina Šmigun in Otepää in 2006
Born	(1977-02-23) 23 February 1977 Tartu, Estonia
Ski club	Oti Sportclub
World Cup career
Seasons	1994–2010
Individual wins	16
Indiv. podiums	49
Medal record Women's cross country skiing Competitor for  Estonia Olympic Games 2006 Turin 10 km classical 2006 Turin 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit 2010 Vancouver 10 km freestyle World Championships 2003 Val di Fiemme 5 km + 5 km double pursuit 2003 Val di Fiemme 10 km 2003 Val di Fiemme 15 km 1999 Ramsau 15 km 2003 Val di Fiemme 30 km 1999 Ramsau 30 km
Updated on 13 December 2009.

Kristina Šmigun-Vähi (born 23 February 1977 in Tartu) is a former and so far most successful Estonian female cross-country skier. Her parents, Anatoli Šmigun and Rutt Rehemaa were both prominent Nordic skiers. Kristina Šmigun-Vähi was coached by her father.

Career

On 12 February 2006, she won the Winter Olympics gold medal for the 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit, becoming the first Estonian woman to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Four days later, she won a second gold medal in the 10 km classical.

On 15 February 2010, she won her third Olympic medal, a silver in the 10 km freestyle race. With two golds and one silver, Kristina Šmigun-Vähi is the most successful Estonian athlete in Olympic history (summer or winter), tying the record of men's cross-country skier Andrus Veerpalu.

Šmigun-Vähi has also found success at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, earning six medals. This included one gold (2003: 5 km + 5 km double pursuit), three silvers (1999: 15 km, 2003: 10 km, 15 km), and two bronzes (1999, 2003: both in 30 km).

On 2 July 2010, Šmigun-Vähi announced that she will quit her professional sport career to focus on her family and her daughter Victoria-Kris.

In 2015, the International Olympic Committee is retesting samples going back eight years with newer methods and looking for substances that at the time could not be traced. It has said the retesting of the Turin samples had been done but that no information would be provided until the whole process was complete. The International Skiing Federation did not confirm or deny the retired athlete tested positive.^[1]

World Cup overall results

Individual World Cup races

Kristina Šmigun and Kateřina Neumannová in 2006

16 wins (14 Individual, 2 Sprint)

Date	Location	Race
11 March 2007	Lahti	10k
18 December 2004	Ramsau am Dachstein	15k
28 November 2004	Kuusamo	10k
21 December 2003	Ramsau am Dachstein	Pursuit
6 December 2003	Toblach	15k
29 November 2003	Kuusamo	Pursuit
22 November 2003	Beitostoelen	10k
4 January 2003	Kavgolovo	5k
23 November 2002	Kiruna	5k
2 March 2002	Lahti	10k
22 December 2001	Ramsau am Dachstein	15k
3 March 2000	Lahti	Sprint
16 February 2000	Ulrichen	5k
28 December 1999	Garmisch-Partenkirchen	Sprint
10 December 1999	Sappada	10k
12 January 1999	Nové Město	15k

Personal life

Kristina is married to her long-time manager Kristjan-Thor Vähi (07.07.2007). She did not participate in the 2007–08 season due to pregnancy and she also missed the following 2008–2009 season. Her daughter Victoria-Kris was born in June 2008. Kristina had a son in March 2011.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games

References

External links

• Kristina Šmigun-Vähi at the International Ski Federation
• Media related to Kristina Šmigun-Vähi at Wikimedia Commons