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We Have to Go With the Times: Alaver on Estonian Skiing, Veerpalu’s Positive
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We Have to Go With the Times: Alaver on Estonian Skiing, Veerpalu’s Positive

Nathaniel HerzJune 29, 2012

Mati Alaver is a legend in Estonia. Alaver, 58, is credited with building his country’s cross-country ski program from scratch following Estonia’s independence in 1991. Over the last two decades, its athletes have won more than 15 major medals at World Championships and Olympic Games—not bad for a country with a population of 1.3 million. Alaver is known not just as a knowledgeable and successful coach, but also as a pitchman who found the sponsor...

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Team 15: Estonia

Kieran JonesNovember 4, 2011

an injury forced him to sit out of his final World Championships, and call it a career. The Estonian strong-man was feted, celebrated, patted on the back, and given rounds of applause – until he The lawyers are still battling it out) and opted to retire before World Championships. This created  a not-insignificant amount of outrage both pro and con-Veerpalu, but Odd-Bjorn Hjelmset demand more. What You Need To Know for This Season The hurricane...

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Starting from Nothing: Estonian Skiing, Past, Present, and Future
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Starting from Nothing: Estonian Skiing, Past, Present, and Future

Nathaniel HerzAugust 11, 20112

Before flying to Estonia last January, I didn’t know much about that nation’s cross-country skiers aside from their names—and their medal records. Jaak Mae, Andrus Veerpalu, and Kristina Smigun-Vaehi—between the three of them, seven Olympic and 10 World Championship medals. Not a bad record for a country with a population of 1.3 million, or the same as the state of Maine. But while Scandinavian stars like Petter Northug and Marit Björgen blend a certain appeal,...

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Team 14: Estonia

Kieran JonesNovember 5, 20104

Estonia Nations Cup Ranking: 14th (971 pts) Men: 11th (648 pts) Women: 12th (323 pts) 2010/2011 A Team Men Andrus Veerpalu Jaak Mae Kein Einaste Women Kaija Udras Kaili Sirge What you may have missed last season: After a three-year retirement, Estonian legend Kristina Smigun-Vaehi came back for the Olympics and had an incredibly strong year. Despite starting few World Cups, she was competitive in every one she started, knocking down four top-10 finishes. In...

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Estonian Sees Fairbanks as World Cup Launch Pad
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Estonian Sees Fairbanks as World Cup Launch Pad

Nathaniel HerzOctober 25, 2010

In the early fall, World Cup hopefuls fan out across the globe, fine-tuning their approaches on glaciers in places like Ramsau, Austria, or Tignes, France. This year, you can add an American spot to the list: Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks may not have the same cachet as those European locales, but for Vahur Teppan, it’s got a lot going for it. Teppan, a native of Estonia and an alumnus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF),...

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