Gerd Kanter (born 6 May 1979) is a retired Estonian

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

er. He was the 2007 World Champion in the event and won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, and bronze in

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. 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 A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

at the 2005 World Championships. He was runner-up at the

2006 European Athletics Championships The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Champions ...

and won further medals at the World Championships in 2009 (bronze) and 2011 (silver). He won the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and the 2013 IAAF Diamond League in discus throw.

Career

He competed at the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, but did not reach the final. The season 2005 was his breakthrough year as he won silver medals at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

and World Athletics Final, took home a victory in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

and won the World University Games. He also threw more than 70 metres for the first time. On 4 September 2006 in

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

, 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

, finishing behind Virgilijus Alekna, and became the world champion in the discus at the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member feder ...

in Osaka. At the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, 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 Los Realejos is a town and a municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife, which is the biggest town in the Canary Islands. It is part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. The town i ...

, Tenerife, Spain with 69.70 m. On 22 March 2009, he set a world indoor best of 69.51 m in

Växjö Växjö () is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 71,282 inhabitants (2020) out of a Municipalities of Sweden, municipal population of 97,349 (2024). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial ce ...

, Sweden. At the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

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 California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

– 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

at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

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

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 : EST Order of the White Star - 4th Class BAR

'' Order of the White Star, 4th Class:'' 2006

References

External links

* * * * * *

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

br>Olympics – Athlete profileGerd Kanter official pageGerd Kanter page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanter, Gerd 1979 births Living people Athletes from Tallinn Estonian male discus throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Estonia Olympic gold medalists for Estonia Olympic bronze medalists for Estonia World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Estonia Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic male discus throwers FISU World University Games gold medalists for Estonia Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class Diamond League winners IAAF Continental Cup winners World Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade