Erki Nool (born 25 June 1970, in Võru, Estonia) is an Estonian

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...

and former politician.

Life and career

Nool grew up in an impoverished environment in the southern part of Võru. His father was a worker in a furniture factory and his mother was in charge of the finances of a school. There were six children, with Erki the third youngest. When he was 13, from the suggestion of his father he moved to a sports-focused

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

. There he could eat a warm meal three times a day for free. In those days the economy was in a poor condition. When traveling to competitions they didn't even get their own cabin in the cruise ship but instead just slept in the hallways and then competed and trained the next day. They also didn't even have winter athletics training facilities. Nool was brought to tears when he was gifted a new, pristine pair of sneakers. Getting to eat yogurt every morning was also new and memorable. After Estonia became independent on 20 August 1991, Nool was vocal about his dream of competing in the Olympics as part of the Estonian team. He took part in the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics decathlon but he ended up having to stop and pull out. Little by little he developed and by the mid-1990s he was among the top athletes in decathlon. In September 1997 he established the first private athletics school in Estonia. When he won gold for decathlon at the 1998 Budapest European Championships, he became a sports hero. Two years later, when he won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

for decathlon in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, he became a national hero. Although Nool did not place first in any individual event, his total score was the highest. Nool won the title after the competition referee decided to over-rule a discus judge, who had red-flagged his last and only valid attempt due to alleged step-out. The reinstatement of his 43.66-metre third throw sparked unsuccessful counter-protests from other teams. Nool took gold ahead of the Czech Roman Šebrle and American

Chris Huffins Chris Huffins (born 15 April 1970) is an athlete from the United States who competed in the field of Decathlon. He was the Director and Head Coach of the Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country programs at the University of Californi ...

. He has been voted as Estonia's sexiest man and in the 2000s the most popular Estonian. In 2006, Nool participated as a celebrity contestant on the first season of '' Tantsud tähtedega'', an Estonian version of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

''. His professional dancing partner was Ave Vardja. 2005–2017, Erki Nool was the Vice Chairman of the EOC Athletes Commission and 2007–2011 member of the

European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...

Development Committee. 2008–2012, he was also member of the executive committee of the Estonian Olympic Committee. On 4 March 2007, Nool was elected to the Estonian Parliament, the '' Riigikogu'', representing the Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica. He has since left politics and now focuses on his real estate business and athletics school, with 450 students. His son Robin Nool (born in 1998) is

pole vaulter Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ...

with a record of 5.40 m.

Achievements

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nool, Erki 1970 births Living people People from Võru Sportspeople from Võru Estonian decathletes Estonian sportsperson-politicians Olympic athletes of Estonia Olympic gold medalists for Estonia Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Isamaa politicians World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) 21st-century Estonian politicians World Athletics Championships athletes for Estonia Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Members of the Riigikogu, 2007–2011 Members of the Riigikogu, 2011–2015 Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games