Gerd Kanter facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gerd Kanter

Personal information
Nationality	Estonian
Born	(1979-05-06) 6 May 1979 (age 45) Tallinn, Estonia
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	127 kg (280 lb)
Sport
Country	Estonia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Discus
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	73.38 m (2006)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 1 World Championships 1 2 2 European Championships 0 3 1 Continental Cup 1 0 0 European Throwing Cup 6 0 1 Universiade 1 0 0 Total 10 5 5 Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Discus Bronze 2012 London Discus World Championships Gold 2007 Osaka Discus Silver 2005 Helsinki Discus Silver 2011 Daegu Discus Bronze 2009 Berlin Discus Bronze 2013 Moscow Discus European Championships Silver 2006 Gothenburg Discus Silver 2012 Helsinki Discus Silver 2014 Zürich Discus Bronze 2016 Amsterdam Discus Continental Cup Gold 2014 Marrakech Discus European Throwing Cup Gold 2003 Gioia Tauro Discus Gold 2004 Marsa Discus Gold 2005 Mersin Discus Gold 2007 Yalta Discus Gold 2008 Split Discus Gold 2009 Tenerife Discus Bronze 2006 Tel Aviv Discus Universiade Gold 2005 İzmir Discus

Gerd Kanter (born 6 May 1979) is a retired Estonian discus thrower. He was the 2007 World Champion in the event and won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and bronze in London 2012. His personal best throw of 73.38 m is the Estonian record and the fourth best mark of all time.

He made his first Olympic appearance in 2004 and established himself a year later by taking the silver medal at the 2005 World Championships. He was runner-up at the 2006 European Athletics Championships and won further medals at the World Championships in 2009 (bronze) and 2011 (silver).

He won the 2012 and the 2013 IAAF Diamond League in discus throw.

Career

He competed at the 2004 Olympics, but did not reach the final. The season 2005 was his breakthrough year as he won silver medals at the World Championships and World Athletics Final, took home a victory in the European Cup and won the World University Games. He also threw more than 70 metres for the first time.

On 4 September 2006 in Helsingborg, Sweden, Kanter threw more than 70 metres in four different rounds (69.46 – 72.30 – 70.43 – 73.38 – 70.51 – 65.88). The best mark of 73.38 m was an Estonian record and the third best in history – only Jürgen Schult (74.08 m, 1986) and Virgilijus Alekna (73.88 m, 2000) had thrown further.

Kanter was the silver medalist at the 2006 European Athletics Championships, finishing behind Virgilijus Alekna, and became the world champion in the discus at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he took the Olympic gold medal with a throw of 68.82 meters, one meter ahead of second-place finisher Piotr Małachowski of Poland.

In March 2009 he won the European Cup Winter Throwing event in Los Realejos, Tenerife, Spain with 69.70 m. On 22 March 2009, he set a world indoor best of 69.51 m in Växjö, Sweden. At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics he returned to defend his world title. He had a best throw of 66.88 m, which was enough for the World bronze medal. He took victory in the Wexiö Indoor Throwing competition in 2010, although his winning throw was some way behind his indoor record set the previous year. Still, he started strongly outdoors, having a long early-season throw of 71.45 m in California – the eleventh best throw ever at that point.

He finished just outside the medals at the 2010 European Athletics Championships, coming fourth, but managed to win the silver medal at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics behind Robert Harting. He ended that year with a season's best throw of 67.99 m at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial.

He retired from competition after the 2018 season.

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Result
Representing  Estonia
2001	European U23 Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	5th	57.73 m
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	12th	55.14 m
2003	European Throwing Cup	Gioia Tauro, Italy	1st	64.17 m
	World Championships	Paris, France	25th (q)	56.63 m
2004	European Throwing Cup	Marsa, Malta, Malta	1st	63.21 m
	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	19th (q)	60.05 m
	World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	5th	63.28 m
2005	European Throwing Cup	Mersin, Turkey	1st	66.05 m
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	2nd	68.57 m
	Universiade	İzmir, Turkey	1st	65.29 m
	World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	2nd	66.01 m
2006	European Throwing Cup	Tel Aviv, Israel	3rd	62.55 m
	European Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	2nd	68.03 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	2nd	68.47 m
2007	European Throwing Cup	Yalta, Ukraine	1st	65.43 m
	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	1st	68.94 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	1st	66.54 m
2008	European Throwing Cup	Split, Croatia	1st	65.25 m
	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	1st	68.82 m
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	1st	68.38 m
2009	European Throwing Cup	Tenerife, Spain	1st	69.70 m
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	3rd	66.88 m
2010	European Championships	Barcelona, Spain	4th	66.20 m
2011	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	2nd	66.95 m
2012	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	2nd	66.53 m
	Olympic Games	London, Great Britain	3rd	68.03 m
2013	World Championships	Moscow, Russia	3rd	65.19 m
2014	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	2nd	64.75 m
	Continental Cup	Marrakech, Morocco	1st	64.46 m
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	4th	64.82 m
2016	European Championships	Amsterdam, Netherlands	3rd	65.27 m
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	5th	65.10 m
2017	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	12th	60.00 m
2018	European Championships	Berlin, Germany	5th	64.34 m

Honours

• Estonian Sportsman of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2011
• European Athlete of the Month: April 2009, April 2010, September 2014

Orders

Order of the Estonian Red Cross, 1st Class: 2009

Order of the White Star, 4th Class: 2006

See also

In Spanish: Gerd Kanter para niños