Andrus Veerpalu

Andrus Veerpalu
nation	Estonia
birthday	8th February 1971 (age 49)
place of birth	Pärnu ,  Estonian SSR
size	182 cm
Weight	73 kg
Career
job	PE teacher
society	Jõulu Ski Club
Trainer	Mati Alaver
status	resigned
End of career	February 23, 2011
Medal table
Olympic medals 2 × 1 × 0 × World Cup medals 2 × 1 × 0 × National medals 23 × 7 × 7 ×
winter Olympics gold 2002 Salt Lake City 15 km classic silver 2002 Salt Lake City 50 km classic gold 2006 Turin 15 km classic  Nordic World Ski Championships silver 1999 Ramsau 50 km classic gold 2001 Lahti 30 km classic gold 2009 Liberec 15 km classic
Placements in the cross-country skiing world cup
Debut in the World Cup December 12, 1992  World Cup victories in individual 6 ( details )  Overall World Cup 7th ( 2002/03 , 2003/04 )  Distance World Cup 6. (2003/04)  Tour de Ski 20th ( 2008/09 )
Podium placements 1. 2. 3.  Sprint races 0 0 1  Distance races 6th 2 2
Placements in the Continental Cup (COC)
Debut in the Continental Cup March 28, 1993  Continental Cup victories 1 ( details )
Podium placements 1. 2. 3.  COC individual race 1 1 0

Andrus Veerpalu (born February 8, 1971 in Pärnu , Estonia ) is a former Estonian cross-country skier . The specialist in classical technology was the first Estonian to win a gold medal at world championships in cross-country skiing in 2001 and became the first Estonian gold medalist at the Winter Olympics in 2002 .

Athletic career

Beginning and first successes (1992–1999)

Veerpalu first took part in an international cross-country skiing competition at the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville, France . Over the 10 kilometers in the classic technique he was able to record a respectable success with 21st place. In the subsequent pursuit competition over the 15 kilometer freestyle , he fell back to 42nd place. Over the 50 kilometers classic, he finished 44th. In the following season he started in the cross-country skiing world cup for the first time , but could only place in the rear field of participants. His best result was 81st place over the classic 15 kilometers in Ramsau, Austria . Veerpalu also took part in the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1993 in Falun , Sweden , and achieved his best result of the season with 31st place over the 30 kilometers in the classic technique. At the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer , Norway , he finished 26th over the 50 km classic.

It was not until the 1994/95 season that Veerpalu succeeded in making it into the top thirty in the World Cup and scoring World Cup points. On February 4, 1995, he finished 25th over the 30 km classic in Falun, Sweden. His breakthrough to the top of the world came in the 1997/98 season, when he was able to place himself in the top ten of a World Cup competition for the first time with sixth place over the 30 kilometers in classic technique in Davos, Switzerland . At the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano , Japan , she was able to confirm this good result with eighth place over the 10 kilometers. A year later he won his first international medal at the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1999 in Ramsau, Austria. Behind the Finn Mika Myllylä he won the silver medal over the 50 kilometers in the classic technique.

World championship title and first Olympic victory (2001-2004)

In the 2000/01 season Veerpalu just missed the podium in his home World Cup in Otepää in fourth. A week later at the beginning of the Nordic World Ski Championships in 2001 in Lahti , Finland , he just missed another medal at world championships in fifth place over the 15 kilometers. On February 19, 2001, however, he won the race over the 30 kilometers in the classic technique with 0.2 seconds ahead of the Norwegian Frode Estil and thus became the first Estonian world champion in cross-country skiing. The following year, Veerpalu confirmed this result at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, USA . In his first competition, the 15 kilometers in classical technique, on February 12, 2002, he again won the gold medal ahead of the Norwegian Frode Estil and his Estonian compatriot Jaak Mae . This time, however, he won with a clear advantage of 36 seconds. Victory in this competition made Veerpalu the first Estonian Olympic champion at the Winter Olympic Games. Eleven days later he won the silver medal over the 50 kilometers classic behind the Russian Mikhail Ivanov .

Veerpalu got off to a successful start in the 2002/03 season . At his home world cup in Otepää he finished third and won his first world cup competition on February 15, 2003 in Asiago, Italy, shortly before the world championships. He won again over the 10 kilometers in a classic way ahead of the Norwegian Frode Estil. He returned the favor at the Nordic World Ski Championships in 2003 in Val di Fiemme, Italy, and relegated Veerpalu to fourth place in the final sprint of the 30 km classic, which was held as a mass start, and secured the bronze medal behind his compatriots Thomas Alsgaard and Anders Aukland . Even over the classic 15 kilometers Veerpalu could not win another medal. While his compatriot Jaak Mae could fight for the silver medal behind the German Axel Teichmann , Veerpalu had to be content with eighth place. A week later, in Oslo, Norway, he achieved his second victory in a classic world cup competition over the 30 kilometers. In the overall World Cup, he was able to place in the top ten for the first time this season and finished seventh overall. With two more victories and two third places in World Cup competitions, the 2003/04 season became the most successful World Cup season for Veerpalu. In addition to the victories in Davos and Nove Mesto and third place in Lahti each over the 15 kilometers in the classic technique, the distance specialist achieved a podium place in a sprint competition for the first time at the sprint competition in Val di Fiemme. At the end of the season he again finished seventh in the overall World Cup and sixth in the Distance World Cup.

Second Olympic victory and injury break (2005-2007)

In the 2004/05 season Veerpalu was able to celebrate a victory in Otepää for the first time in his home country. With a 42-second lead, he won the 15 kilometers in the classic technique ahead of his long-time rival Frode Estil and his Estonian compatriot Jaak Mae. While Estil managed to win the 50 kilometers classic at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf in 2005 , Veerpalu had to be content with fourth place in the race, which was held in the mass start mode he did not like, as in 2003. His last World Cup victory so far was on March 12, 2005 in Oslo. He won the classic 50 kilometers ahead of the German Jens Filbrich . A year later Veerpalu managed to defend his gold medal over the 15 kilometers in a classic way at his only start at the 2006 Olympic Games in Pragelato, Italy . He won ahead of the Czech Lukáš Bauer and the German Tobias Angerer .

In the summer of 2006 Veerpalu had to undergo a knee operation, so that he could not take part in any World Cup competition in the following season. Instead he started the year after his second Olympic victory in some competitions of the cross-country marathon cup . In the overall ranking of this series of competitions over distances of 42 kilometers and more, he was able to occupy 13th place overall.

Return to the World Cup and end of career after positive doping results (2008 to 2011)

Veerpalu returned to the World Cup in December 2007 and finished 21st over the classic 15 kilometers in Davos. At his second start, his home race in Otepää, he made a strong comeback in fourth. At the beginning of the 2008/09 season , Veerpalu proved with two seventh places over 15 kilometers that he is still among the best in the world even at the age of 37. On February 20, 2009 Veerpalu crowned his comeback at the Nordic World Ski Championships by winning the world title over 15 kilometers in classic style. Twelve days after his 38th birthday, he was the oldest world champion of all time in the history books of cross-country skiing. He was also able to keep up with the top group for a long time in the pursuit competition. In the end, the specialist in classic technology took 19th place. In the team sprint he reached the finals together with Aivar Rehemaa and ended up in eighth place. He also achieved this placement with the Estonian team in the relay competition. Veerpalu focused in the 2009/10 season on the 50 kilometer classic competition at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver . In addition to a few competitions in the cross-country skiing world cup , he also competed in the Jizera Mountains , in which he was able to take sixth place. At his home World Cup in Otepää, he finished second behind Lukáš Bauer in the absence of the world's elite . As the last preparatory race before the Olympic Games, he contested the Tartu Maraton , where he finished ninth. He arrived late for the competitions in Vancouver and only contested the 50 kilometer classic competition. There he belongs to the top group until the end, but could not keep up with the younger runners in the final sprint and crossed the finish line in sixth place. At the end of the season he convinced in the pursuit competition in Lahti with sixth place and in the prologue of the World Cup final , where he finished seventh. Veerpalu will also take part in World Cup competitions in the 2010/11 season . In Kuusamo and Davos he came in 29th place over 10 and 15 kilometers. In Otepää, with fifth place over 15 kilometers, he again proved in classic style that he must also be counted among the favorites for the 2011 Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo. Shortly before the start of the World Cup, however, he fell ill with a respiratory infection and had to end the training camp. On February 23, 2011, he canceled participation in the World Cup and announced the end of his sporting career. On April 7, 2011, it was announced that a doping test on February 14 found an increased level of growth hormones . The FIS banned him for three years. The International Sports Court lifted the ban in 2013 because of doubts about WADA's statistical methods .

successes

World Cup victories in individual

No.	date	place	discipline
1.	February 15, 2003	Asiago	10 km classic individual start
2.	March 8, 2003	Oslo	50 km classic individual start
3.	December 13, 2003	Davos	15 km classic individual start
4th	January 17, 2004	Nové Město na Moravě	15 km classic individual start
5.	January 8, 2005	Otepää	15 km classic individual start
6th	March 12, 2005	Oslo	50 km classic individual start

Victories in Continental Cup races

No.	date	place	discipline	series
1.	January 12, 2002	Otepää	10 km classic	Continental Cup

World Cup overall placements

season	total		distance		sprint
	Points	space	Points	space	Points	space
1993/94	5	77.	-	-	-	-
1994/95	7th	73.	-	-	-	-
1995/96	-	-	-	-	-	-
1996/97	14th	72.	4th	60. 1	10	59.
1997/98	101	26th	50	24 1	51	28.
1998/99	189	22nd	119	12 1	52	43.
1999/2000	117	43.	48 28	23 1 51 2	41	36.
2000/01	105	42.	-	-	-	-
2001/02	201	19th	-	-	-	-
2002/03	370	7th	-	-	-	-
2003/04	539	7th	465	6th	74	23.
2004/05	314	13.	302	10.	12	58.
2005/06	206	26th	190	18th	16	52.
2006/07	-	-	-	-	-	-
2007/08	131	50.	114	34.	17th	77.
2008/09	279	27.	215	20th	16	77.
2009/10	188	41.	185	20th	3	108.
2010/11	49	86.	49	50.	-	-

¹ Long distance world cup

² Middle distance world cup

Private life

Veerpalu is married and lives with his wife Angela and their five children Andreas (* 1994), Anette (* 1996), Anders, Anlourdees and Andorres (* 2011) in the Estonian winter sports center Otepää . His eldest children, Andreas and Anette, inherited the sporting talent from their father and have already achieved their first successes at Estonian youth championships. In March 2011, at the age of 14, Anette Veerpalu won the Estonian championship title in the women's team sprint together with Triin Ojaste . A day later she won her broad senior title with the relay. Andreas, who attends the ski school in Meråker, Norway and is trained there by Frode Estil , among others , took part in the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck . Over 10 kilometers classic and in the relay competition, he took eighth place. In the sprint competition he was 15.

Awards

• Veerpalu was voted Sportsman of the Year in Estonia in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2009 .
• In 2005 Veerpalu was the first Estonian to be honored with the Holmenkollen Medal .
• After his second Olympic victory in 2006, Veerpalu, like his also successful compatriot Kristina Šmigun , was honored on February 22, 2006 by the Estonian President Ilves with the highest state award, the Order of the White Star in the highest category.
• In addition, special postage stamps were issued for Šmigun and Veerpalu by the Estonian Post.
• After his first Olympic victory in 2002 he was awarded the Order of the Estonian Red Cross, 1st category.

Web links

• Andrus Veerpalu in the database of the International Ski Federation (English)
• Andrus Veerpalu in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• Profile of Andrus Veerpalu at the Estonian Ski Association
• Sports achievements and photo (Estonian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Veerpalu plans to return in January 2008 . www.xc-ski.de. November 8, 2007. Accessed on February 20, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Wax roulette in Liberec: Veerpalu defeats local hero Bauer . www.xc-ski.de. February 20, 2009. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 20, 2009. 
3. ^ Andrus Veerpalu gives up World Championships and ends career . www.fiscrosscountry.com. February 23, 2011. Archived from the original on November 8, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 23, 2011. 
4. ^ Positive A and B samples from Andrus Veerpalu . www.spiegel.de. April 7, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
5. ↑ Christoph Becker: Cross-country skiing star acquitted. In: FAZ.net . March 26, 2013, accessed October 13, 2018 . 
6. ↑ Naisteleht viis kokku Angela Veerpalud . www.naisteleht.ee. November 7, 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
7. ↑ Andrus Veerpalu poeg Andreas võitis ülivõimsalt Eesti Noorte meistrivõistlused . www.kalev.ee. January 19, 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
8. ↑ Anette Veerpalu võitis täiskasvanute seas teise meistritiitli . sport.err.ee. March 26, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
9. ↑ Veerpalu poeg õpib Norra suusakoolis . www.ekspress.ee. November 26, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
10. ↑ Andreas Veerpalu on the FIS website . sport.err.ee. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 28, 2012. 
11. ↑ List of Estonian Sportsman of the Year (Estonian) . EOK . November 8, 2007. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 17, 2014. 
12. ^ The President of the Republic handed over a state decoration to Andrus Veerpalu . vp2001-2006.vpk.ee. June 28, 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
13. ↑ Kristina Smigun and Andrus Veerpalu Double Olympic Winners / 348-30.03.06 . www.post.ee. March 30, 2006. Retrieved February 20, 2009.
14. ^ Bearers of decorations - Andrus Veerpalu . www.president.ee. Retrieved December 28, 2009.