Aleksander Kreek facts for kids
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Representing  Estonia |
||
| European Athletics Championships | ||
| Gold | 1938 Paris | Shot Put |
Aleksander Kreek (born July 21, 1914 – died August 19, 1977) was a famous Estonian track and field athlete. He was especially good at the shot put, which is an event where athletes throw a heavy ball as far as they can. Aleksander became a European champion in shot put in 1938. He was one of only two Estonian men ever to win this title! He also won two medals at the International University Games.
Aleksander's best throw was 16.40 meters, which was an Estonian record at the time. He won the national shot put championship four times and was also a national champion in the discus throw once.
Career Highlights
Aleksander Kreek was born in Lihula, Lääne County, Estonia. He became a top international athlete in the mid-1930s while he was in military school.
His first big successes came in 1937. He won a gold medal at the 1937 International University Games. This meant he kept the title for Estonia, as another Estonian athlete, Arnold Viiding, had won it two years before. That same year, he won his first of four Estonian national titles in the shot put. His best throw of 15.90 meters that year made him one of the top six shot putters in the world.
In 1938, Aleksander set a new Estonian record with a throw of 16.16 meters in Karlstad. This made him the second-best shot putter in the world that year! He broke this record two more times in 1939. First, he threw 16.28 meters, and then he reached his best-ever distance of 16.40 meters.
His greatest achievement happened in 1938 when he represented Estonia at the 1938 European Athletics Championships in Paris. He won the European title with a throw of 15.83 meters, which was a championship record (the best throw ever at those championships). Like before, he followed in the footsteps of Arnold Viiding, who was the champion in 1934. Even today, Kreek and Viiding are the only Estonians to have won the European shot put title. For his amazing achievement, Aleksander was given a special award called the Order of the White Star (3rd class) to recognize his contributions to Estonia through sport.
His third and final major international medal was a silver medal at the 1939 International University Games. Aleksander threw 16.26 meters, which was a great performance. However, he was beaten by Germany's Gerhard Stöck, who was the Olympic champion in javelin throw. In 1939, Aleksander also won the Estonian discus throw title.
Aleksander competed for Estonia internationally for the last time in 1940. He also matched his Estonian record that year with another throw of 16.40 meters, making him the fourth-best shot putter for the season. He continued to compete in Estonia and won his last national shot put titles.
After his sports career, Aleksander worked for Estonia's National Bureau of Statistics and the Bank of Estonia. He later left Estonia to live in Sweden as a refugee, and then moved to Canada in the early 1950s. He settled down with his family in Canada and passed away in Toronto in 1977. His grandson, Adam Kreek, also became a successful athlete, winning a gold medal in rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics for Canada.
