Kristina Šmigun-Vähi (born 23 February 1977) is a former

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 ...

n female cross-country skier and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. She is the most successful Estonian female cross-country skier with two Olympic gold medals. In 2019 she was elected as a Member of the

Estonian Parliament 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 ...

Career

On 12 February 2006, she won the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

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 the 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit, becoming the first Estonian woman to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Four days later, she won a second gold medal in the 10 km classical. On 15 February 2010, she won her third

Olympic medal An Olympic medal is awarded to successful competitors at one of the Olympic Games. There are three classes of medal to be won: gold, silver, and bronze, awarded to first, second, and third place, respectively. The granting of awards is laid o ...

, a silver in the 10 km freestyle race. With two golds and one silver, Šmigun-Vähi is the most successful Estonian athlete in Olympic history (summer or winter), tying the record of men's cross-country skier

Andrus Veerpalu Andrus Veerpalu (born 8 February 1971) is a retired Estonian cross-country skier. He is Estonia's most successful Winter Olympian, having won the gold medal in men's 15 km classical in 2002 and 2006, and silver in men's 50 km classical in 20 ...

. Šmigun-Vähi has also found success at the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship e ...

, earning six medals. This included one gold (2003: 5 km + 5 km double pursuit), three silvers (1999: 15 km, 2003: 10 km, 15 km), and two bronzes (1999, 2003: both in 30 km). On 2 July 2010, Šmigun-Vähi announced that she will quit her professional sport career to focus on her family and her daughter Victoria-Kris. On 24 October 2016, the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

Athletes' Commission stated that Šmigun-Vähi faced a

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...

hearing before the end of October.

Personal life

She is the daughter of former cross-country skiers Rutt and Anatoli Šmigun. Her sister

Katrin Šmigun Katrin Šmigun (born 21 October 1979) is an Estonian cross-country skier. She competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics. Her sister is cross-country skier Kristina Šmigun-Vähi Kristina Šmigun-Vähi (born 23 February ...

and cousin

Aivar Rehemaa Aivar Rehemaa (born 28 September 1982) is an Estonian cross-country skier. He competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He represented Estonia at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. His best finish at the Winter Olympics is 10th in the 4� ...

were also cross-country skiers. Šmigun-Vähi is married to her long-time manager Kristjan-Thor Vähi, She missed the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons due to pregnancy. She has two children, daughter born in 2008 and son born in 2011.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

* 3 medals – (2 gold, 1 silver)

World Championships

* 6 medals – (1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze) :a. Cancelled due to extremely cold weather.

World Cup

Season titles

* 2 titles – (1 long distance, 1 middle distance)

Season standings

Individual podiums

*16 victories – (16 ) *50 podiums – (49 , 1 ) Note: Until the 1999 World Championships, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

Overall record

:a. Classification is made according to FIS classification. :b. Includes individual and mass start races. :c. Includes pursuit and double pursuit races. :d. May be incomplete due to lack of appropriate sources for some relay races prior to 1995/96 World Cup season. Note: Until 1999 World Championships and 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were part of the World Cup. Hence results from those races are included in the World Cup overall record.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smigun-Vahi, Kristina 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Tartu Estonian female cross-country skiers Cross-country skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic cross-country skiers of Estonia Olympic gold medalists for Estonia Olympic silver medalists for Estonia Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in cross-country skiing Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Politicians from Tartu Members of the Riigikogu, 2019–2023 Women members of the Riigikogu 21st-century Estonian women politicians