Erki Nool

Erki Nool (born 25 June 1970 in Võru, Estonia) is an Estonian decathlete and former politician.

Erki Nool

Nool in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Erki Nool
Born	(1970-06-25) 25 June 1970 Võru, Estonia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	84 kg (185 lb)
Sport
Country	Estonia
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Decathlon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	8815 (2001)[1]
Medal record Men's athletics Representing Estonia Olympic Games 2000 Sydney Decathlon World Championships 2001 Edmonton Decathlon World Indoor Championships 1997 Paris Bercy Heptathlon 1999 Maebashi Heptathlon European Championships 1998 Budapest Decathlon 2002 Munich Decathlon European Indoor Championships 1996 Stockholm Heptathlon 2000 Ghent Heptathlon 2002 Wien Heptathlon

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. There he could eat a warm meal three times a day for free.[1]

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.[1]

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.[1] Little by little he developed and by the mid 1990s he was among the top athletes in decathlon.[1] On September 1997 he established the first private athletics school in Estonia.[2]

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 for decathlon in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he became a national hero.[1] 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.

He has been voted as Estonia's sexiest man and in the 2000s the most popular Estonian.[1] In 2006, Nool participated as a celebrity contestant on the first season of Tantsud tähtedega, an Estonian version of Dancing with the Stars. His professional dancing partner was Ave Vardja.

Since 2005, Erki Nool has been the Vice Chairman of the EOC Athletes Commission and since 2007, member of the European Athletics Development Committee. Since 2008, he is 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.[3] He has since left politics and now focuses on his real estate business and athletics school, with 450 students.[1]

His son Robin Nool (born in 1998) is pole vaulter with a record of 540 cm.[1][4]

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Estonia
1992	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	—	Decathlon	DNF
1994	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	10th	Decathlon	7953 pts
1995	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	4th	Decathlon	8268 pts
	World Indoor Championships	Barcelona, Spain	7th	Heptathlon	5887 pts
1996	European Indoor Championships	Stockholm, Sweden	1st	Heptathlon	6188 pts
	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	6th	Decathlon	8543 pts
1997	World Championships	Athens, Greece	6th	Decathlon	8413 pts
	World Indoor Championships	Paris, France	2nd	Heptathlon	6213 pts
1998	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	1st	Decathlon	8667 pts
	IAAF World Combined Events Challenge		1st	Decathlon	25,967 pts
1999	World Indoor Championships	Maebashi, Japan	2nd	Heptathlon	6374 pts
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	14th	Decathlon	7568 pts
2000	European Indoor Championships	Ghent, Belgium	3rd	Heptathlon	6200 pts
	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	1st	Decathlon	8641 pts
	IAAF World Combined Events Challenge		1st	Decathlon	26,089 pts
2001	World Indoor Championships	Lisboa, Portugal	5th	Heptathlon	6074 pts
	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	2nd	Decathlon	8815 pts
	IAAF World Combined Events Challenge		2nd	Decathlon	25,839 pts
	Goodwill Games	Brisbane, Australia	3rd	Decathlon	8323 pts
2002	European Indoor Championships	Vienna, Austria	3rd	Heptathlon	6084 pts
	European Championships	Munich, Germany	2nd	Decathlon	8438 pts
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	—	Decathlon	DNF
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	8th	Decathlon	8235 pts
	World Indoor Championships	Budapest, Hungary	5th	Heptathlon	6093 pts
2005	European Indoor Championships	Madrid, Spain	12th	Heptathlon	5712 pts

References

1. Silvennoinen, Santtu (25 June 2020). "Kun köyhä Erki rantautui Suomeen, KGB oli kintereillä – tamperelaisen rakennusmestarin upea teko sai itkun silmään: "Virolaisia luultiin varkaiksi"". Iltalehti. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
2. About Erki Nool on Decathlon2000.ee Archived 2007-06-27 at the Wayback Machine
3. Erki Nool politician career on Riigikogu.ee
4. "Robin Nool". European Athletics. Retrieved 25 June 2020.

External links

• Erki Nool at World Athletics
• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Erki Nool". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Jüri Jaanson	Estonian Sportsman of the Year 1996–1998	Succeeded by Andrus Veerpalu
Preceded by Andrus Veerpalu	Estonian Sportsman of the Year 2000	Succeeded by Andrus Veerpalu
Olympic Games
Preceded by Tõnu Tõniste	Flagbearer for  Estonia 2004 Athens	Succeeded by Martin Padar