Meelis Aasmäe

Meelis Aasmäe
Meelis Aasmäe
nation	Estonia
birthday	June 13, 1972
place of birth	Hellenurme ,  Soviet Union
size	182 cm
Weight	78 kg
Career
society	Viljandi SK
status	resigned
Medal table
National medals 2 × 1 × 3 ×
Placements in the cross-country skiing world cup
Debut in the World Cup November 22, 1997  Overall World Cup 98th ( 1998/99 )  Distance World Cup 71st (1998/99)
last change: March 16, 2012

Meelis Aasmäe (born June 13, 1972 in Hellenurme , rural municipality Palupera , then Estonian SSR , Soviet Union ) is an Estonian cross-country and biathlon trainer and former cross-country skier . Aasmäe became Estonian champions over 50 kilometers classic in 1998 and 2000.

Career as an active athlete

Aasmäe competed in his first international competition at the age of 23 in the Cross-Country Continental Cup. In November 1995 in Savalen, Norway, he finished 75th over 10 kilometers of freestyle . In the following season he secured himself with 28th place in the Continental Cup over 10 kilometers classic in Kittilä, Finland, the start of the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim , where he achieved 57th place in the classic victory of the Finn Mika Myllylä over 50 kilometers. In 1997 he won the Tartu Complex Event, a competition series consisting of four competitions in different endurance sports - Tartu Maraton ( cross-country skiing ), Tartu running marathon ( running ), Tartu road cycling ( cycling ) and Tartu cycling marathon ( mountain bike marathon ).

A year later he had his first use in the cross-country skiing world cup . In Beitostølen , Norway , he could classically place 110 over 10 kilometers, but only in the back of the field. In his second use in the World Cup in Kawgolowo , Russia , he was 45th over the distance of 30 kilometers freestyle. At the 1998 Winter Olympics in the Japanese Nagano started Aasmäe the 30 km classic, where he finished in 52nd place. In the 1998/99 season he won his first World Cup points at the World Cup in Otepää, Estonia . In front of his home crowd, he finished 29th over 10 kilometers classic. His best placement at the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1999 in Ramsau , Austria, was also a 29th place over 30 kilometers of freestyle. Over 10 kilometers classic he was 54th In the following pursuit competition over 25 kilometers freestyle, he improved to 41st place. With the Estonian relay, he finished tenth. Together with Pavo Raudsepp , he took second place in the team sprint in Vantaa , which was held on the sidelines of the World Cup in Lahti and was not part of the World Cup program at the time.

Aasmäe was also an integral part of the Estonian national team in the following years, but missed further World Cup points in World Cup competitions with top 40 placements. At the Nordic World Ski Championships 2001 in Lahti , Finland , he achieved his best career result at an international championship with the victory of his compatriot Andrus Veerpalu with 25th place over 30 kilometers. Over 50 kilometers freestyle he would be 26th and 33rd over 15 kilometers classic. With the Estonian relay, he finished seventh. In 2002 Aasmäe took part in his second Winter Olympic Games . In Salt Lake City he started in the classical technique competitions. Over 15 kilometers he was 40th and over 50 kilometers 48th As in the World Championships in 1999 and 2001 Aasmäe was also used in the relay competition. Starting runner Raul Olle handed over to the Olympic champion over 15 kilometers classic Andrus Veerplau, who was able to improve the Estonian relay to third place. To the surprise of many, the bronze medal winner was able to convince Jaak Mae over 15 kilometers in the classic free technique and still handed over to Aasmäe in third place. Aasmäe could not follow the final runners of the other nations and lost over 3 minutes to the victorious relay from Norway. The Estonian relay finished ninth in the end. At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2003 in the Italian Val di Fiemme , he was 44th on 30 km classical (mass start) and 57th on 15 km classical.

In the following years Aasmäe only started in World Cup competitions in his native Otepää. Since 2004 he has participated in the Cross-Country Marathon Cup . In 2004, in Mora , Sweden , he took eleventh place in the classic Vasa race over the distance of 90 kilometers. A year later he was 19th over 70 kilometers classic in Val di Fiemme and won the Finlandia-hiihto over 60 kilometers classic , which is part of the Worldloppet series . In 2006 he was tenth at the Wasalauf and won the Tallinn Skimarathon. In his last season in 2007, he got a 26th place at La Sgambeda in Livigno , a 27th place in Val di Fiemme and a 24th place at the König-Ludwig-Lauf in Oberammergau .

Coaching career

After his active career, Aasmäe worked as a cross-country trainer in biathlon and has been part of the Estonian national biathlon team since the 2007/08 season. Since the 2011/12 season he has also been the main coach of Estonian biathlete Kadri Lehtla , who has been training outside of the Estonian national team since then and has been able to improve and stabilize her results in the World Cup.

Web links

• Meelis Aasmäe in the database of the International Ski Federation (English)
• Meelis Aasmäe in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• Profile at the Estonian Ski Association

Individual evidence

1. ^ Tartu Complex Event History. (No longer available online.) Www.tartumaraton.ee, formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 16, 2012 .  ( 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. ↑ Lehtla: Raudsepp ja Aasmäe sprintisid Vantaas teiseks. (No longer available online.) Postimees , March 9, 1999, formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 16, 2012 .  ( 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.    
3. ↑ Finlandia- hiihto. www.worldloppet.com, February 26, 2005, accessed March 16, 2012 . 
4. ↑ 10. Tallinna suusamaratoni võitis Meelis Aasmäe. (No longer available online.) Www.worldloppet.com, November 29, 2011, formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 16, 2012 .  ( 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.    
5. ↑ Sakala: Meelis Aasmäe jätkab koondise hooldemehena. (No longer available online.) ERR , November 28, 2007, formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 16, 2012 .  ( 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.    
6. ↑ Kadri Lehtla: Cakars ei ole mulle sobilik treener. ERR, November 29, 2011, accessed March 16, 2012 .