Andrus Värnik

Andrus Värnik medal table
Andrus Värnik
Javelin throw
Estonia
World championships
silver	2003 Paris	Javelin throw
gold	2005 Helsinki	Javelin throw

Andrus Värnik (born September 27, 1977 in Valga ) is an Estonian javelin thrower . He is the first athlete in his country to win a gold medal at world championships.

Athletic career

His first international competition highlight was the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney , where he did not reach the final. In the summer of 2002 he improved an Estonian record for the first time with 83.47 m. At the 2003 World Championships in Paris / Saint-Denis , he finished second behind Sergei Makarow (RUS) and ahead of the German Boris Henry . Shortly before, he had set a new Estonian record in Valga with 87.83 m. In 2004 he reached the final at the Olympic Games in Athens and finished in sixth place.

At the World Championships in Helsinki in 2005 he won with 87.17 m ahead of the Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR) and the defending champion Makarow. Two years later he was unable to defend his title at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka and was eliminated from qualifying with just 76.11 m. In the following year he could not confirm his performance from 2005 and even missed the qualification for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing . Despite being nominated by the Estonian Athletics Association, Värnik, who has a season best of 82 meters, decided not to participate in the 2009 World Championships in Berlin due to poor form .

Andrus Värnik is 1.82 m tall and has a competition weight of 100 kg.

Awards

• In 2003 and 2005, Värnik was voted Sportsman of the Year in Estonia.

Web links

• Andrus Värnik in the database of World Athletics (English)

Footnotes

1. ↑ Terviseprobleemid kustutasid Andrus Värniku MM unistuse . sport.postimees.ee. August 15, 2009. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
2. ↑ EOK , List of Estonian Athletes of the Year ( Memento from April 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (Estonian)