Jüri Jaanson (born 14 October 1965) is the most successful

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

of all time and the winner of five medals at

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...

. He became World Champion in Tasmania 1990 in the single sculls event. 14 years later, at age 38 he won an Olympic silver medal in the single sculls event at the

2004 Summer 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), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

."2004 Summer Olympics – Athens, Greece – Rowing"
In

Beijing 2008 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 won his second Olympic silver medal, this time in the double sculls event with

Tõnu Endrekson Tõnu Endrekson (born 11 June 1979) is an Estonian rower. He is a five time Olympic finalist and dual Olympic medal winner. He was fourth in the double sculls event with Leonid Gulov at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and won a silver medal i ...

. He is a member of the SK Pärnu rowing club located in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

. In 2007, Jaanson became the oldest rower ever to win a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

event at the age of 41 in Amsterdam. Jaanson was born in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

, and had to overcome a particularly challenging childhood, brought on by a severe case of pneumonia at the age of 2. Doctors gave antibiotics which saved him, but which also left him almost completely deaf. He attended a school for the deaf until he obtained a primitive hearing aid at the age of 12, allowing him to attend a regular school. Still, being a loner, he struggled with fitting in. At Tartu University, when a coach introduced him to rowing, he took to it passionately, in fact so passionately that he left the University to focus on rowing. He wears hearing aids on a regular basis and was also seen wearing them during his rowing competitions. Jaanson is among four athletes to compete in rowing at six Olympics, with Romanian

Elisabeta Lipă Elisabeta Lipă (; née Oleniuc on 26 October 1964) is a retired rower and government official from Romania. She is the most decorated rower in the history of the Olympics, winning five gold, two silver and one bronze medals. She holds the rec ...

in 2004, Canadian

Lesley Thompson Lesley Allison Thompson-Willie (born September 20, 1959) is a Canadian rowing coxswain and Olympic champion. Between 1984 and 2016, she has competed at eight Olympic Games, a record for a rower, winning medals in five of them including gold in ...

(cox) in 2008, and Australian James Tomkins. On 18 November 2010, Jaanson announced ending his career. In July 2011 he was awarded with the

Thomas Keller Medal The Thomas Keller Medal is given by the World Rowing Federation (FISA) for an outstanding international career in the sport of rowing. It is the highest honor in rowing and is awarded to any athlete within five years of his/her retirement from the ...

, the highest honor in rowing."Jueri Jaanson awarded rowing's highest distinction"
/ref> He is also a member of the Estonian parliament, the

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Jus ...

for the Reform Party.

Olympic Games

* 1988 Seoul – 8th Single sculls * 1992 Barcelona – 5th Single sculls * 1996 Atlanta – 18th Single sculls * 2000 Sydney – 6th Single sculls * 2004 Athens – Single sculls *

2008 Beijing 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 ...

– Double sculls (with

)

World Championships

* 1989 Bled,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

– Single sculls * 1990 Tasmania, Australia – Single sculls * 1991 Vienna, Austria – 12th Single sculls * 1995

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

– Single sculls * 1997 Aiguebelette, France – 13th Single sculls * 1998 Cologne, Germany – 14th Single sculls * 1999 St. Catharines, Canada – 7th Single sculls * 2001 Luzerne, Switzerland – 7th Single sculls * 2003 Milan, Italy – 7th Single sculls * 2005 Gifu, Japan – Quadruple sculls (with

Andrei Jämsä Andrei Jämsä (born 14 February 1982) is an Estonian rower. Due to a back injury he could not compete in 2007. He is a member of rowing club "Pärnu Sõudeklubi" (Pärnu Rowing Club) located in Pärnu. Junior years Jämsä was born in Pärnu. ...

and Leonid Gulov) * 2007 Munich, Germany – Double sculls (with Tõnu Endrekson)

European Championships

* 2008 Marathon,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

– Quadruple Sculls (with Tõnu Endrekson, Andrei Jämsä and Allar Raja)

Rowing World Cup

Overall wins * Single sculls: 1990, 1995 * Quadruple sculls: 2005 * Double sculls: 2007

References

External links