Estonian athletes took part of the Olympic Games until the country was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. The 1980 Summer Olympics Sailing regatta was held in the capital city Tallinn. After regaining independence in 1991, Estonia has participated in all Olympics. Estonia has won most of its medals in athletics, weightlifting, wrestling and cross-country skiing. The list of notable Estonian athletes include wrestlers Kristjan Palusalu, Voldemar Väli and Georg Lurich, skiers Andrus Veerpalu and Kristina Smigun-Vähi, decathlonist Erki Nool, tennis player Kaia Kanepi, cyclists Jaan Kirsipuu and Erika Salumäe and discus throwers Gerd Kanter and Aleksander Tammert. culture Traditionally, Estonia has been seen as an area of rivalry between western and eastern Europe on many levels.The Estonian Academy of Arts (Estonian: Eesti Kunstiakadeemia, EKA) is
Book of Records was a sportsman. In the Olympic Games of 1912 in Stockholm, the Finn Alfred Asikainen and the Estonian Martin Klein wrestled for a record 11 hours and 40 minutes. Klein won, and "Russia" was given as his country of residence. The first chance to rectify this mistake came in 1918 when the Republic of Estonia came into being for the first time. Martin Klein was the first Estonian Olympic medal winner. Among other Estonians, the heavyweight wrestlers Georg Lurich, Aleksander Aberg and Georg Hackenschmidt were famous at the turn of the century. Before independence, Estonians were the best in the whole Russian empire in athletics (16 records out of 29), wrestling and weightlifting. Estonian sport was therefore born before the independent state. Actually, it was an important factor in our national awakening. Several great figures of national politics, among them the
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