Jüri Jaanson in 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Estonian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1965-10-14)14 October 1965 (age 60) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 94 kg (207 lb)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Rowing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | M1x,M2x,M4x | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Pärnu Sõudeklubi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Jüri Jaanson (born 14 October 1965) is the most successfulEstonianrower of all time and the winner of five medals atWorld Rowing Championships.
Jaanson was born inTartu, and had to overcome a particularly challenging childhood, brought on by a severe case of pneumonia at the age of 2. Doctors gave antibiotics which saved him, but which also left him almost completely deaf. He attended a school for the deaf until he obtained a primitive hearing aid at the age of 12, allowing him to attend a regular school. Still, being a loner, he struggled with fitting in. At Tartu University, when a coach introduced him to rowing, he took to it passionately, in fact so passionately that he left the university to focus on rowing.[2] He wears hearing aids on a regular basis and was also seen wearing them during his rowing competitions.
He became World Champion in Tasmania 1990 in the single sculls event. In 1995, he won theDiamond Challenge Sculls (the premier singles sculls event) at theHenley Royal Regatta, rowing for the Parnu Rowing Club.[3]
In 2004 at age 38, he won an Olympic silver medal in the single sculls event at the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens.[4] InBeijing 2008 he won his second Olympic silver medal, this time in the double sculls event withTõnu Endrekson[5] and became Estonia's oldest Olympic medal winner with the age of 42 years, 10 months and two days.[6] He is a member of the SK Pärnu rowing club located inPärnu. In 2007, Jaanson became the oldest rower ever to win aWorld Cup event at the age of 41 in Amsterdam.[7]
Jaanson is among four athletes to compete in rowing atsix Olympics, with RomanianElisabeta Lipă in 2004, CanadianLesley Thompson (cox) in 2008, and AustralianJames Tomkins.
On 18 November 2010, Jaanson announced ending his career. In July 2011 he was awarded with theThomas Keller Medal, the highest honor in rowing.[8]
He is also a member of the Estonian parliament, theRiigikogu for theReform Party.
Single sculls
Double sculls (withTõnu Endrekson)
Single sculls
Single sculls
Single sculls
Quadruple sculls (withAndrei Jämsä,Tõnu Endrekson andLeonid Gulov)
Double sculls (with Tõnu Endrekson)
Quadruple Sculls (with Tõnu Endrekson, Andrei Jämsä and Allar Raja)Overall wins
| Jüri Jaanson Rowing World Cup appearances | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Venue | Country | Position | Class | Crew |
| 1990 | ||||||
| 1. | 5–7 April 1990 | Mission Bay,San Diego | FA 3rd![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 2. | 11–13 May 1990 | Mannheim | FA 1st![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 3. | 1–3 June 1990 | Rostadion | FA 1st![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 4. | 29 June-1 July 1990 | Bosbaan,Amsterdam | FA 3rd![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 5. | 13–15 July 1990 | Rotsee,Lucerne | FA 1st![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 1991 | ||||||
| 6. | 5–7 April 1991 | Mission Bay, San Diego | FA 5th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 7. | 8–10 April 1991 | Piediluco | FA 6th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 8. | 24–26 May 1991 | Wedau,Duisburg | FA 6th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 9. | 31 May-2 June 1991 | Hjelmsjoe,Örkelljunga | FB 7th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 1992 | ||||||
| 10. | 3–5 April 1992 | Mission Bay, San Diego | FB 7th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 11. | 1–3 May 1992 | Fühlinger See,Cologne | FB 7th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 12. | 29–31 May 1992 | Bagsværd,Copenhagen | FA 2nd![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 13. | 12–14 June 1992 | Rotsee, Lucerne | FA 5th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 1994 | ||||||
| 14. | 15–17 July 1994 | Rotsee, Lucerne | FB 7th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 1995 | ||||||
| 15. | 2–4 June 1995 | Hazewinkel | FA 1st![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 16. | 16–18 June 1995 | Paris | FA 1st![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 17. | 30 June-2 July 1995 | Henley-on-Thames | FA 1st![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 18. | 7–9 July 1995 | Rotsee, Lucerne | FA 1st![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 1998 | ||||||
| 19. | 29–31 May 1998 | Oberschleissheim,Munich | FB 7th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 1999 | ||||||
| 20. | 9–11 July 1999 | Rotsee, Lucerne | FB 12th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 2000 | ||||||
| 21. | 1–3 June 2000 | Oberschleissheim, Munich | FA 3rd![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 22. | 23–25 June 2000 | Vienna, Austria | FB 8th | Double scull | (b) Tõnu Endrekson, (s) Jüri Jaanson | |
| 23. | 14–16 July 2000 | Rotsee, Lucerne | SA/B 2 | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 2001 | ||||||
| 24. | 13–15 July 2001 | Oberschleissheim, Munich | FA 5th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 2002 | ||||||
| 25. | 1–3 August 2002 | Rotsee, Lucerne | FB 9th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 2003 | ||||||
| 26. | 29–31 May 2003 | Idroscalo,Milan | R4 | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 27. | 19–21 June 2003 | Oberschleissheim, Munich | FC 13th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 2004 | ||||||
| 28. | 7–9 May 2004 | Lake Malta,Poznań | FA 1st![]() | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 29. | 18–20 June 2004 | Rotsee, Lucerne | R1 | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| 2005 | ||||||
| 30. | 26–28 May 2005 | Dorney Lake,Dorney | FA 1st![]() | Quad scull | (b) Jüri Jaanson,Leonid Gulov,Tõnu Endrekson, (s)Andrei Jämsä | |
| 31. | 8–10 July 2005 | Rotsee, Lucerne | FA 1st![]() | Quad scull | (b) Jüri Jaanson, Leonid Gulov, Tõnu Endrekson, (s) Andrei Jämsä | |
| 2007 | ||||||
| 32. | 1–3 June 2007 | Danube,Linz/Ottensheim | FA 5th | Double scull | (b) Tõnu Endrekson, (s) Jüri Jaanson | |
| 33. | 22–24 June 2007 | Bosbaan, Amsterdam | FA 1st![]() | Double scull | (b) Tõnu Endrekson, (s) Jüri Jaanson | |
| 34. | 13–15 July 2007 | Rotsee, Lucerne | FA 1st![]() | Double scull | (b) Tõnu Endrekson, (s) Jüri Jaanson | |
| 2008 | ||||||
| 35. | 20–22 June 2008 | Lake Malta, Poznań | FA 3rd![]() | Double scull | (b) Tõnu Endrekson, (s) Jüri Jaanson | |
| 2009 | ||||||
| 36. | 18–20 June 2009 | Oberschleissheim, Munich | FC 12th | Single scull | Jüri Jaanson | |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Estonian Sportsman of the Year 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Estonian Sportsman of the Year 1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Estonian Sportsman of the Year 2004 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Thomas Keller Medal 2011 | Succeeded by |
| Summer Olympics | ||
| Preceded by | Flagbearer for Atlanta 1996 | Succeeded by |