Gerd Kanter (born 6 May 1979) is a retired Estonian

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

er. He was the 2007

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in the event and 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 ...

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, and bronze in

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. His personal best throw of 73.38 m is the Estonian record and the third best mark of all time. He made his first Olympic appearance in 2004 and established himself a year later by taking the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at the 2005 World Championships. He was runner-up at the

2006 European Athletics Championships The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Champions ...

and won further medals at the World Championships in 2009 (bronze) and 2011 (silver). He won the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and the 2013 IAAF Diamond League in discus throw.

Career

He competed at the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, but did not reach the final. The season 2005 was his breakthrough year as he won silver medals at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and

World Athletics Final The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the ...

, took home a victory in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

and won the World University Games. He also threw more than 70 metres for the first time. On 4 September 2006 in

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

, Sweden, Kanter threw more than 70 metres in four different rounds (69.46 – 72.30 – 70.43 – 73.38 – 70.51 – 65.88). The best mark of 73.38 m was an Estonian record and the third best in history – only

Jürgen Schult Jürgen Schult (, ; born 11 May 1960) is a German former track and field athlete and, as of September 2021, the world record holder in the discus. Dating from 1986, this is the longest-standing record in men's track and field. Schult represent ...

(74.08 m, 1986) and

Virgilijus Alekna Virgilijus Alekna (; 13 February 1972) is a Lithuanian former discus thrower and politician. He won medals at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics, including two golds. After retiring from athletics, Alekna was elected to the national parliament, t ...

(73.88 m, 2000) have thrown further. Kanter was the silver medalist at the

, finishing behind

, and became the world champion in the discus at the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federat ...

in Osaka. At the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, he took the Olympic gold medal with a throw of 68.82 meters, one meter ahead of second-place finisher

Piotr Małachowski Piotr Małachowski (Polish pronunciation: ; born 7 June 1983) is a Polish retired discus thrower, two-time silver medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics. His personal best throw is 71.84 metres, ranks him fifth in all-ti ...

of Poland. In March 2009 he won the

European Cup Winter Throwing The European Throwing Cup (until 2016 European Cup Winter Throwing) is an annual continental athletics competition for athletes specialising in the events of discus, javelin and hammer throwing and the shot put. The winter event, organised every ...

event in

Los Realejos Los Realejos is a town and a municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife, which is the biggest of the Canary Islands. It is part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. The town is located from the north coast, southw ...

, Tenerife, Spain with 69.70 m. On 22 March 2009, he set a world indoor best of 69.51 m in

Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

, Sweden. At the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

he returned to defend his world title. He had a best throw of 66.88 m, which was enough for the World bronze medal. He took victory in the Wexiö Indoor Throwing competition in 2010, although his winning throw was some way behind his indoor record set the previous year. Still, he started strongly outdoors, having a long early-season throw of 71.45 m in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

– the eleventh best throw ever at that point. He finished just outside the medals at the

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Cat ...

, coming fourth, but managed to win the

at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

behind

Robert Harting Robert Harting (; born 18 October 1984) is a retired German discus thrower. He represents the sports club SCC Berlin, his coach is Torsten Schmidt. He is a former Olympic, World, and European champion in the men's discus throw. His younger bro ...

. He ended that year with a season's best throw of 67.99 m at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial. He retired from competition after the 2018 season.

Achievements

Honours

* Estonian Sportsman of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2011 * European Athlete of the Month: April 2009, April 2010, September 2014

Orders

'' Order of the Estonian Red Cross, 1st Class:'' 2009 : EST Order of the White Star - 4th Class BAR

'' Order of the White Star, 4th Class:'' 2006

References

External links

* * * * * *

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

br>Olympics – Athlete profileGerd Kanter official pageGerd Kanter page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanter, Gerd 1979 births Living people Athletes from Tallinn Estonian male discus throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Estonia Olympic gold medalists for Estonia Olympic bronze medalists for Estonia World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Estonia Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic male discus throwers Universiade gold medalists for Estonia Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class Diamond League winners IAAF Continental Cup winners World Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade