Estonia at the Olympics

Estonia first competed as a nation at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, just two years after declaring independence from the Russian and German Empires in 1918. The Estonian National Olympic Committee was established in 1923, marking the start of Estonia's organized participation in the Olympic Games.

Estonia took part in both Summer and Winter Olympics until the country was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. During this time, from 1952 to 1988, Estonian athletes competed under the Soviet flag. A notable moment during this period was when the 1980 Summer Olympics sailing regatta was held in Tallinn.

After regaining independence in 1991, Estonia returned to the Olympic stage as an independent nation. The country made its Winter Olympics debut as an independent nation at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and also participated in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Some of Estonia's proudest Olympic moments include Jüri Lossman winning silver in the men's marathon and Alfred Neuland taking gold in the men's lightweight weightlifting event at the same Games. Later, at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Andrus Veerpalu won Estonia's first Winter Olympic gold in the men's 15 km cross-country skiing event.

Since regaining independence, Estonia has taken part in every Summer and Winter Olympics. The country has earned most of its medals in wrestling (11), weightlifting (7), cross-country skiing (7), and athletics (6).

Medal tables

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

Medals by Summer Games

Medals by Winter Games

Medals by summer sport

Medals by winter sport

List of medalists

Summer Olympics

Winter Olympics

List of gold medal winners during Soviet time

Summer sports

Estonia has joined many summer sports, but they have not yet taken part in: Artistic swimming, Baseball/Softball, Cricket, Diving, Field hockey, Golf, Handball, Lacrosse, Rugby football, Skateboarding, Sport climbing, Surfing, Taekwondo and Water polo.

Estonia has also not joined some older sports that are no longer in the Olympics: Basque pelota, Croquet, Jeu de paume, Karate, Polo, Rackets, Roque, Tug of war and Water motorsports.

Archery

Archery was part of the Olympics from 1900 to 1920, then returned in 1972 and has stayed ever since.

Estonia's best result in archery is a shared 17th place by Reena Pärnat in the women's event in 2020.

Estonia's best result in a men's archery event is 42nd by Raul Kivilo in the men's event in 1996.

Athletics

Athletics has been in the Olympics since the very first games in 1896.

Estonia has won 6 medals in athletics: 2 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze.

Their top athlete in athletics is Gerd Kanter who won gold in men's discus throw in 2008 and bronze in the same event in 2012.

Estonia's other gold medalist in athletics is Erki Nool who won gold in men's decathlon in 2000.

Three more Estonian athletes have won medals: Jüri Lossman won silver in men's marathon in 1920, Aleksander Klumberg won bronze in men's decathlon in 1924, and Aleksander Tammert won bronze in men's discus throw in 2004.

Estonia's best result in a women's athletics event is 6th place by Ksenija Balta in women's long jump in 2016.

Badminton

Badminton became an Olympic sport in 1992.

Estonia's best result in badminton is a shared 14th place, by Raul Must in men's singles in 2016 and by Kati Tolmoff in women's singles in 2016.

Basketball

3x3 Basketball

3x3 basketball became an Olympic sport in 2020.

Estonia has not yet joined this event.

Team basketball

Basketball has been in the Olympics since 1936.

The Estonia men's national basketball team joined once, finishing in a shared 9th place in 1936.

Estonia has not yet joined women's basketball events.

Boxing

Boxing has been in the Olympics since 1904, except for 1912.

Estonia has won one silver medal in boxing, won by Nikolai Stepulov in lightweight in 1936.

Estonia has not yet joined women's boxing events.

Canoeing

Slalom

Canoe slalom first joined the Olympics in 1972, returned in 1992, and has stayed since.

Estonia has not yet joined this event.

Sprint

Canoe sprint (including the older canoe marathon) has been in the Olympics since 1936.

Estonia has not yet reached a final in canoe sprint, so they do not have an official placement. Their best result was Hain Helde's place in the semifinals of men's K1 1000m in 1996.

Estonia has not yet joined women's canoe sprint events.

Cycling

Estonia has not yet joined BMX freestyle or BMX racing.

Mountain biking

Mountain biking became an Olympic sport in 1996.

Estonia's best result in mountain biking is 17th place by Janika Lõiv in the women's event in 2020.

Estonia's best result in a men's mountain biking event is 41st place by Sigvard Kukk in the men's event in 2004.

Road cycling

Road cycling was in the Olympics in 1896, returned in 1912, and has stayed since.

Estonia's best result in road cycling is 5th place by Lauri Aus in men's individual road race in 1992.

Estonia's best result in a women's road cycling event is 17th place by Grete Treier in women's individual road race in 2012.

Track cycling

Track cycling was in the first modern Olympics in 1896 and has been in every Summer Games except 1912.

Estonia has won one medal in track cycling, gold by Erika Salumäe in women's sprint in 1992.

Estonia's best result in a men's track cycling event is 21st place by Daniel Novikov in men's sprint in 2008.

Equestrian

Estonia has not yet joined Equestrian eventing or Equestrian show jumping.

They also did not join the older events Equestrian driving or Equestrian vaulting.

Dressage

Dressage had one event in 1900. It returned to the Olympics in 1912 and has stayed since.

Estonia joined dressage once. Dina Ellermann finished in 49th place in the individual event.

Estonia has not yet sent a male rider to join dressage.

Fencing

Fencing has been in the Olympics since the first games in 1896.

Estonia has won two medals in fencing. Julia Beljajeva, Irina Embrich, Erika Kirpu and Katrina Lehis won gold in women's team épée in 2020. Katrina Lehis also won bronze in women's individual épée in the same games.

Estonia's best result in a men's fencing event is 4th place by Kaido Kaaberma in men's individual épée in 1992.

Football

Football has been in the Olympics since 1900, except for 1932.

The Estonia men's national football team joined once, in 1924. They finished in a shared 17th place.

Estonia has not yet joined women's football events.

Gymnastics

Estonia has not yet joined Artistic gymnastics or Trampoline.

Rhythmic gymnastics

Rhythmic gymnastics became an Olympic sport in 1984.

Estonia's best result in rhythmic gymnastics is 20th place by Irina Kikkas in individual all-around in 2008.

There are no men's events in rhythmic gymnastics.

Judo

Judo joined the Olympics in 1964, except for 1968.

Estonia has won 3 bronze medals in judo.

Indrek Pertelson won bronze in men's +100 kg in both 2000 and 2004. Aleksei Budõlin won bronze in men's 81 kg in 2000.

Estonia has not yet joined women's judo events.

Modern pentathlon

Modern pentathlon has been in the Olympics since 1912.

Estonia's best result in modern pentathlon is 7th place by Imre Tiidemann in the individual event in 1996.

Estonia has not yet joined women's modern pentathlon events.

Rowing

Rowing has been in the Olympics since 1900.

Estonia has won 3 medals in rowing: 2 silver and 1 bronze.

Jüri Jaanson won 2 silver medals: one in men's single sculls in 2004 and one with Tõnu Endrekson in men's double sculls in 2008.

Tõnu Endrekson has also won two medals: along with his silver mentioned above, he won a bronze with Andrei Jämsä, Allar Raja and Kaspar Taimsoo in men's quadruple sculls in 2016.

Estonia has not yet joined women's rowing events.

Sailing

Sailing has been in the Olympics since 1900, except for 1904.

Estonia has won two bronze medals in sailing.

Andreas Faehlmann, Georg Faehlmann, Nikolai Vekšin, Eberhard Vogdt and William von Wirén won bronze in the 6 metre class in 1928, and Tõnu Tõniste and Toomas Tõniste won bronze in men's 470 in 1992.

Estonia's best result in a women's sailing event is 6th place by Krista Kruuv in Europe in 1992.

Shooting

Shooting was in the first modern Olympics in 1896 and has been in every Summer Games except 1904 and 1928.

Estonia's best result in shooting is 7th place by Andrei Inešin in men's skeet in 1996.

Estonia's best result in a women's shooting event is a shared 21st place by Inna Rose in women's 10m air pistol in 1992.

Swimming

Long course swimming

Long course swimming has been in the Olympics since the first games in 1896.

Estonia's best result in long course swimming is 13th place by Kregor Zirk in men's 200m freestyle in 2020.

Estonia's best result in a women's long course swimming event is 16th place by Jana Kolukanova in women's 50m freestyle in 2000 and by Eneli Jefimova in women's 100m breaststroke in 2020.

Marathon swimming

Marathon swimming became an Olympic sport in 2008.

Estonia has not yet joined this event.

Table tennis

Table tennis joined the Olympics in 1988.

Estonia's best result in table tennis is a shared 33rd place by Igor Solopov in men's singles in 1992.

Estonia has not yet joined women's table tennis events.

Tennis

Tennis was in the Olympics from 1896 to 1924, then returned in 1988 and has stayed since.

Estonia's best result in tennis is a shared 9th place by Kaia Kanepi in women's singles in 2008.

Estonia has not yet joined men's tennis events.

Triathlon

Triathlon became an Olympic sport in 2000.

Estonia's best result in triathlon is 21st place by Marko Albert in the men's event in 2004.

Estonia's best result in a women's triathlon event is 44th place by Kaidi Kivioja in the women's event in 2016.

Volleyball

Beach volleyball

Beach volleyball joined the Olympics in 1996.

Estonia's best result in beach volleyball is a shared 17th place by Avo Keel and Kaido Kreen in the men's event in 1996.

Estonia has not yet joined women's beach volleyball events.

Indoor volleyball

Indoor volleyball became an Olympic sport in 1964.

Estonia has not yet joined this event.

Weightlifting

Weightlifting was first in the Olympics in 1896. It was not in 1900, 1908, or 1912, but has been every other time.

Estonia did well before World War II, winning 1 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze medals.

Their top weightlifter was Alfred Neuland who won gold in men's 67.5 kg in 1920 and silver in men's 75 kg in 1924. In the 1924 event, Jaan Kikkas also won bronze for Estonia.

Estonia's second-best weightlifter was Arnold Luhaäär who won silver in men's +82.5 kg in 1928 and bronze in the same event in 1936.

Alfred Schmidt won silver in men's 60 kg in 1920. Harald Tammer won bronze in men's +82.5 kg in 1924.

Estonia has not yet joined women's weightlifting events.

Wrestling

Wrestling was in the first modern Olympics in 1896 and has been in every Summer Games except 1900.

Wrestling is Estonia's best sport, with 5 gold medals and 11 total medals.

Estonia's top wrestler is Kristjan Palusalu who won gold in both men's Greco-Roman heavyweight and men's freestyle heavyweight in 1936. Their second-best wrestler is Voldemar Väli who won gold in men's Greco-Roman featherweight in 1928 and bronze in men's Greco-Roman lightweight in 1936.

Their other gold medalists are Eduard Pütsep who won men's Greco-Roman bantamweight in 1924 and Osvald Käpp who won men's freestyle lightweight in 1928.

August Neo won two medals in 1936: silver in men's freestyle light heavyweight and bronze in men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight.

Estonia's other medalists are Heiki Nabi who won silver in men's Greco-Roman 120 kg in 2012, Roman Steinberg who won bronze in men's Greco-Roman middleweight in 1924, and Albert Kusnets who won bronze in men's Greco-Roman middleweight in 1928.

Estonia's best result in a women's wrestling event is 8th place by Epp Mäe in women's freestyle 76 kg in 2020.

Winter sports

Estonia has taken part in most winter sports, but they have not joined in Bobsleigh, Ice hockey, Short track speed skating, Skeleton, and Snowboarding.

Alpine skiing started in the Olympics in 1936. Estonia's best result was 26th place, achieved by Karin Peckert-Forsmann in women's combined in 1936 and by Warren Cummings Smith in men's slalom in 2014.

Cross-country skiing has been part of the Winter Olympics since 1924 and is Estonia's most successful winter sport. They have won 7 medals: 4 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze. Andrus Veerpalu and Kristina Šmigun-Vähi are Estonia's top cross-country skiers, each winning 2 gold and 1 silver medal.

Figure skating joined the Winter Olympics in 1924. Estonia's best result was 17th place by Diana Rennik and Aleksei Saks in pairs in 2006.

Freestyle skiing became an Olympic sport in 1992. Kelly Sildaru won a bronze medal in women's slopestyle in 2022. In the 2026 Winter Olympics, her younger brother Henry Sildaru won Estonia’s second freestyle skiing medal, a silver in Men’s Freeski Halfpipe.

Luge was added to the Olympics in 1964. Estonia's best result was 19th place by Helen Novikov in women's singles in 1994.

Nordic combined has been in the Olympics since 1924. Estonia's best result was 4th place by Magnar Freimuth, Allar Levandi, and Ago Markvardt in men's team in 1994.

Ski jumping has been in the Olympics since 1924. Estonia's best result was 23rd place by Jens Salumäe in men's individual large hill in 2006.

Speed skating has been in the Olympics since 1924. Estonia's best result was 4th place by Saskia Alusalu in women's mass start in 2018. Their best men's result was 7th place by Marten Liiv in men's 1000m in 2022.