Kaspar Taimsoo (born 30 April 1987) is an Estonian

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 di ...

. He is a four time Olympian and four time European champion. He is a member of Viljandi Rowing Club ( et, Viljandi Sõudeklubi).

Rowing career

2004–2008

Taimsoo made his first international appearance in the Junior World Championships in 2004 achieving 14th position in the double sculls event. In 2005 he won a bronze medal in the single sculls event at the Junior World Championships. His first appearance at the

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 ...

was in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

where he competed in the quadruple sculls event with

Allar Raja Allar Raja (born 22 June 1983) is an Estonian rower. He is a member of rowing club "SK Kalev" located in Pärnu. Rowing career 2000–2008 Raja competed in the World Rowing Junior Championships in 2000 in the quadruple sculls event (19th) and i ...

Igor Kuzmin Igor Kuzmin (born 23 November 1982) is an Estonian rower. He is a member of rowing club "SK Narva Energia" located in Narva. Junior years Kuzmin was born in Narva. In 2000 Kuzmin competed in the World Rowing Junior Championships in the single ...

and

Vladimir Latin Vladimir Latin (born 30 May 1985 in Narva) is an Estonian rower. He is a member of rowing club "SK Narva Energia" located in Narva. He finished 9th in the men's quadruple sculls at the 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), of ...

finishing on 8th position. The same team achieved 5th place at the

2007 European Rowing Championships The 2007 European Rowing Championships were held at the Lake Malta in Poznań, Poland, between 21 and 23 September 2007. The European Rowing Championships had previously been held between 1893 and 1973, had become an international regatta in char ...

held in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Taimsoo made his first appearance at the Olympic Games 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 ...

competing in the

quadruple sculls A quadruple sculling boat, often simply called a quad and abbreviated 4x, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four people who propel the boat by sculling with two oars, or "sculls", one in each hand. Rac ...

event with Raja, Kuzmin and Latin. The men were 4th in their preliminary heat and won the repechage. In the semifinals they finished fourth and did not get to Final A. Their final place was 9th as they finished third in Final B. The same team also won the

Queen Mother Challenge Cup The Queen Mother Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's quadruple sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing club A rowing club is a club fo ...

at the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

. In September 2008 Taimsoo won his first European Championships medal, a silver, in the double sculls event with Vladimir Latin.

2009–2012

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Taimsoo won his first World Championships medal, a bronze, competing in the double sculls event with Allar Raja in

. The same duo also won the gold medal at the

2009 European Rowing Championships The 2009 European Rowing Championships were held in Brest, Belarus, from 18 to 20 September 2009. They were the third European Rowing Championships after the decision was made in May 2006 by the International Rowing Federation, FISA to re-establi ...

, held in

Brest, Belarus Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

. Raja and Taimsoo finished 8th at the

2010 World Rowing Championships The 2010 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 31 October to 7 November 2010 on Lake Karapiro near Cambridge, New Zealand. The annual week-long rowing regatta was organised by FISA (the International Rowi ...

held at

Lake Karapiro Lake Karapiro () is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, south-east of Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for the 96-megawatt Karap ...

, New Zealand. The same crew finished second at the 2010 European Championships. Taimsoo and Raja finished 7th at the

2011 World Rowing Championships The 2011 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 28 August to 4 September 2011 at Lake Bled in the Slovenian city of Bled. The annual week-long rowing regatta is organized by World Rowing Federation Worl ...

. For the 2011 European Championships Taimsoo and Raja formed a new quad scull team 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 ...

and

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. ...

. The crew finished second after

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and won the silver medals.Gold medal haul for Greece at the European Championships
. World Rowing (18 September 2011). Retrieved on 7 May 2012 At the

2012 Summer Olympics 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 ...

, held in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Taimsoo made his second olympic appearance in the

event. This time with Raja, Endrekson and Jämsä. The crew finished second in their preliminary heat and also in the semifinal, thus earning a place in Final A. In the final they finished just outside the medals in 4th place behind crews from

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, respectively. The same quadruple sculls crew won a gold medal at the 2012 European Championships.

2013–2016

The 2013 season started off with a good result as Taimsoo and Raja won a silver medal at the World Cup event held in

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 ...

. The 2013 European Championships, held in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

was a disappointment as the men did not reach Final A and finished in 7th place overall. In the summer of 2013 Taimsoo and Raja formed a new quadruple scull crew with young prospects Sten-Erik Anderson and

Kaur Kuslap Kaur Kuslap (born 26 January 1990) is an Estonian rower. He was born in Viljandi. He started his rowing training in 2002, coached by Ruth Vaar. He has won the Estonian championships 14 times. In 2012 he was a reserve competitor for Estonian rowe ...

. The new crew had an immediate success winning bronze medals at the World Cup events held at Eaton and Lucerne. They also finished 5th at the

2013 World Rowing Championships The 2013 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 25 August to 1 September 2013 at Tangeum Lake Tangeum Lake is an artificial lake at Chungju in South Korea.

held at

Tangeum Lake Tangeum Lake is an artificial lake at Chungju in South Korea.Tourist Route: Tange ...

Chungju Chungju (충주시) is a city in North Chungcheong province, South Korea. Uamsan is a mountain located within the outskirts of the city. The city is famous for the annual martial arts festival held in October. Also of note, former UN Secretary-G ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The same team repeated their 5th place at the

2014 World Rowing Championships The 2014 World Rowing Championships were the 44th edition of the World Rowing Championships and were held from 24 to 31 August 2014 at Bosbaan, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the second occasion on which the event had been held in Amsterdam, or ...

held in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. In the summer of 2015 Taimsoo and Raja reunited with Tõnu Endrekson and Andrei Jämsä in preparation for the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

. The crew went on to win a bronze medal at the

2015 World Rowing Championships The 2015 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 2015 at Lac d'Aiguebelette, Aiguebelette in France. Description The annual week-long rowing regatta was organized by FISA (the Int ...

held in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In the spring of 2016 they also won a gold medal at the 2016 European Championships. At the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, held in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Taimsoo made his third olympic appearance in the

event, with Raja, Endrekson and Jämsä. The crew won their preliminary heat, thus earning a place in Final A. In the final they finished third winning the bronze medals, behind crews from

and

, respectively.

Achievements

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Medals: 1 Bronze *

World Championship 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, ...

Medals: 3 Bronze * European Championship Medals: 3 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze * Junior World Championship Medals: 1 Bronze

Olympic Games

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

– 9th, Quadruple sculls (with

) *

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 ...

– 4th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja,

) *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

– Bronze , Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja,

)

World Rowing Championships

– 8th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Igor Kuzmin, Vladimir Latin) *

– Bronze , Double sculls (with Allar Raja) *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

– 8th, Double sculls (with Allar Raja) *

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

– 7th, Double sculls (with Allar Raja) *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

– 5th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Sten-Erik Anderson,

) *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

– 5th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Sten-Erik Anderson, Kaur Kuslap) *

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

– Bronze , Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Tõnu Endrekson, Andrei Jämsä) *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

– Bronze , Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Tõnu Endrekson, Kaur Kuslap) *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

– 12th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Tõnu Endrekson, Kaur Kuslap)

European Rowing Championships

– 5th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Igor Kuzmin, Vladimir Latin) *

– Silver , Double sculls (with Vladimir Latin) *

– Gold , Double sculls (with Allar Raja) *

– Silver , Double sculls (with Allar Raja) *

– Silver , Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Tõnu Endrekson, Andrei Jämsä) *

– Gold , Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Tõnu Endrekson, Andrei Jämsä) *

– 7th, Double sculls (with Allar Raja) *

– 6th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Sten-Erik Anderson, Kaur Kuslap) *

– 8th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Sten-Erik Anderson, Tõnu Endrekson) *

– Gold , Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Tõnu Endrekson, Andrei Jämsä) *

– 7th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Sten-Erik Anderson, Kaur Kuslap) *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

– 9th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Sten-Erik Anderson, Kaur Kuslap) *

– 8th, Quadruple sculls (with Tõnu Endrekson, Sten-Erik Anderson, Jüri-Mikk Udam) *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

– 4th, Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Tõnu Endrekson, Jüri-Mikk Udam) *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

– Bronze , Quadruple sculls (with Allar Raja, Tõnu Endrekson, Jüri-Mikk Udam)

Junior World Rowing Championships

*2004 – 14th, Double sculls (with Alo Kuslap) *2005 – Bronze , Single sculls

Henley Royal Regatta

*2008 –

Rowing World Cup

References

External links

Biography and results
at worldrowing.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Taimsoo, Kaspar 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Viljandi Estonian male rowers Olympic rowers of Estonia Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2020 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Estonia Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in rowing Olympic bronze medalists for Estonia Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class