Sport plays an important role in Estonian culture. Estonia first competed as a nation at the 1920 Summer Olympics, although the National Olympic Committee was established in 1923. Estonian athletes took part at every 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. Estonia has won most of its Olympic medals in wrestling, athletics, weightlifting, and cross-country skiing.Xinhua News Agency – Ethiopian makes Winter Olympic history, Russian Pyleva banned – By sportswriter Xie Peilin – 18 February 2006 – Basketball is the most popular spectator sport in Estonia.
Athletics Athletics is popular in Estonia, shown by number of medals won this field of sport. Jüri Lossmann came in second on the marathon at the 1920 Olympic Games. Aleksander Klumberg won the bronze medal in 1924 in the men's decathlon competition. Between 2000 and 2009, Estonia scored at least one medal in major international competition in every year: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. Before that, Erki Nool won the gold medal in 1998.
Notable athletes in Estonia: Erki Nool, Gerd Kanter, Andrus Värnik, Rasmus Mägi, Aleksander Tammert, Pavel Loskutov, Jüri Lossmann, Aleksander Klumberg
Basketball Basketball is a notable sport in Estonia, and has often been called the "national sport of Estonia". Estonia national basketball team participated in 1936 Summer Olympics and have appeared in EuroBasket eight times. They had twice finished EuroBasket on 5th place before Soviet occupation. Many Estonian players also represented and won medals with the Soviet team. After regaining independence, Estonia finished Eurobasket 6th in 1993. The domestic top-tier basketball championship is called the Korvpalli Meistriliiga. BC Kalev/Cramo has the best results in the recent years, while University of Tartu team has won the league a record 26 times. Estonian clubs also participate in European and regional competitions. Estonia will co-host the, EuroBasket in 2029 along with Greece, Slovenia and Spain marking the first time they have hosted the EuroBasket.
Beach volleyball Kristjan Kais and Rivo Vesik have playing at the FIVB World Tour. In 2007, they won Zagreb Open and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Their best result from World Championships was 5th.
Estonia featured national teams in beach volleyball that competed at the 2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup in both the women's and the men's sections.
Cricket The Estonia Cricket Association (ECA) was formed in 2007 and became members of the International Cricket Council in 2008. The ECA runs Men's and Women's leagues, playing 40-40, T20 and Super 8's competitions. It has member clubs in Tallinn and Tartu. Estonia is also home to a unique variant of the game in Ice cricket. The Ice Cricket World Championship was held annually in the Estonian city of Tallinn played upon the surface of a frozen lake.
Cycling Jaan Kirsipuu has been the best Estonian road bicycle racer. He has won 4 Tour de France stages and 1 Vuelta a España stage. Kirsipuu also wore the yellow jersey for six days in the 1999 Tour de France. Erika Salumäe is an Estonian track bicycle racer who won the first Olympic gold medal for Estonia after the country regained its independence in 1991. Tanel Kangert has finished inside top 20 all the three Grand Tours - 13th place in 2013 Giro d'Italia, 11th place in 2013 Vuelta a España and 20th place in 2014 Tour de France. In 2014 Tour de France he helped Vincenzo Nibali to take the first place in General classification. Rein Taaramäe finished the 2011 Tour de France in 11th place and won the 14th stage of 2011 Vuelta a España. He also held the white jersey for Stage 8 and 9 in the 2012 Tour de France. Aavo Pikkuus won 1976 Olympic gold medal with Soviet Union team time trial event.
Disc golf
Kristin Lätt is Estonia’s most successful disc golfer of all time, and in 2022 she achieved the highest PDGA rating of any Estonian female. She is the 2022 and 2023 Women's Professional Disc Golf Champion, and has also achieved the highest PDGA rating among all female athletes.
Fencing Épée fencing has been very successful for Estonia in the past few decades. Oksana Jermakova became the first fencing World Champion for Estonia winning Individual épée in 1993. Irina Embrich has won the most total medals for Estonia. Nikolai Novosjolov became the world champion in 2010 and 2013. At 2013 Championships Julia Beljajeva also won the gold medal. At the 2018 European Championships Estonian women took a triple win in the individual épée. Both women's and men's épée teams have won championship medals. Women's épée team became the Olympic champions at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Estonia has won 17 World Fencing Championships medals and several European Fencing Championships medals.
Notable fencers in Estonia: Julia Beljajeva, Irina Embrich, Sven Järve, Oksana Jermakova, Kaido Kaaberma, Erika Kirpu, Kristina Kuusk, Katrina Lehis, Nikolai Novosjolov and Maarika Võsu.
Floorball Estonia men's national floorball team has been successful at the World Championships with best result 7th and multiple 8th places.
Football
Football is one of the most popular sports in Estonia by number of active players, although nothing special has been achieved. Estonia advanced to the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying play-offs.
Freestyle skiing Kelly Sildaru won women's slopestyle at 2015 Dew tour. At just 13 years old, Kelly Sildaru might be the smallest competitor in the field, but she brought the biggest run of the contest, spinning all four directions and showcasing technicality on the rails in the process. On the jumps, Kelly landed a switch right 900, right corked 720, switch left 900 and left 720, and the judges rewarded her with a 90.80 to put her into 1st place.
Kelly won Gold in the slopestyle event in the 2016 Winter X Games beating Tiril Sjåstad Christiansen. With this win, at age 13, Kelly became the youngest gold medalist to date at an X Games winter event. She was the gold medal favorite for the women's slopestyle event in 2018 Winter Olympics, but missed competing in the Games because of a knee injury. Her later career has not been so successful, but she managed to win bronze medal at the 2022 Olympics.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey in Estonia is governed by the Estonian Ice Hockey Association (Eesti Jäähokiliit). The top-tier league of men's ice hockey in Estonia is the Meistriliiga (also known as Coolbet Hokiliiga for sponsorship reasons). The top-tier league of women's ice hockey in Estonia is the Naiste Hokiliiga.
Judo Judo is one of the most successful field of sport for Estonia. Since 1996, Estonia has won several medals in major international competitions.
3 Olympic medals 3 Bronze medals: 2000 and 2004. 4 World Judo Championships medals 3 Silver medals: 1999, 2001, 2003 and bronze medal in 2003. 15 European Judo Championships medals. Indrek Pertelson, Aleksei Budõlin and Martin Padar are the most famous Judo athletes in Estonia in the past years.
Motocross Tanel Leok is an Estonian motocross racer competing in the Motocross World Championship in MX1 class.
Racing
Paul Aron is an Estonian racing driver. He finished third in the FIA Formula 2 Championship driving with Hitech Grand Prix. Paul is currently a reserve driver for Alpine F1 Team. Ralf Aron is an Estonian racing driver. He became champion in the Italian F4 Championship in 2015. Marko Asmer is an Estonian auto racing driver, whose career in single seater junior formula is notable for his British Formula Three Championship title in 2007. Asmer is also the first Estonian racing driver to test a Formula One car. Tõnis Kasemets is an Estonia racing driver. He has driven in Champ Car World Series. His maiden achievement is the 2022 IMSA Prototype Challenge championship title. Kevin Korjus is an Estonian racing driver. He won the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship in 2010 and finished seventh in the GP3 Series in 2013. Sten Pentus is an Estonian racing driver who competed in Blancpain Sprint Series. Martin Rump is an Estonian racing driver and currently competing in European Le Mans Series. He is the only Estonian who has competed 24 Hours of Le Mans. Jüri Vips is an Estonian racing driver. Vips became champion of 2017 ADAC Formula 4 Championship. He is currently competing in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Rallying
Rallying became popular in Estonia during the Soviet time and it is still one the most popular sports in Estonia. Legendary Estonian rally drivers like Heino Sepp, Heiki Ohu, Vello Õunpuu, Joel Tammeka and many more, achieved good results competing in the Soviet Union. These drivers made rallying very popular among Estonians. Every year there was Soviet Union National Rally Team where half of the rally drivers were from Estonia. Markko Märtin was the first Estonian to win WRC event, attracting Estonian rally fans more and more. Ott Tänak is the first Estonian to win the World Rally Championship title in 2019. Estonian WRC event, Rally Estonia, gathers thousands of rally fans to watch top level drivers competing. Markko Märtin was the first Estonian who won a number of rallies in the World Rally Championship. Markko has scored 5 WRC victories, total of 18 podium finishes, 207 points and 101 stage wins. In 2004, he finished the season with 3rd place. Markko was one of the best rally drivers, but retired after an accident in 2005. Rally fans from Estonia continued to be interested in WRC, visiting Rally Finland and other rallies. Ott Tänak is 2019 WRC Champion, and Martin Järveoja won the FIA World Rally Championship for Co-Drivers that season. Previously Tänak had repeated Märtin's achievement by finishing 3rd overall in 2017, winning his fifth rally in August 2018 and eventually surpassing Märtin by winning his sixth rally in September 2018. Tänak also finished 3rd overall in 2018, winning three rallies in a row and mathematically still being in the title race at the last rally of the season. He was the highest pointscorer for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT that season, who won the Manufacturer's Championship that season. Rally Estonia was added to the World Rally Championship calendar from 2020.
Rowing Rowing is a popular sport in Estonia. One reason is Jüri Jaanson, but there are also other well-known rowers in Estonia. Between 2004 and 2009, Estonia scored at least one medal in major international competition in every year: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. After six years Estonia won bronze medal in 2015.
Tõnu Endrekson, Andrei Jämsä, Allar Raja and Kaspar Taimsoo have also won an Olympic medal.
Sailing Twin brothers Tõnu Tõniste and Toomas Tõniste competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988. They won a silver and a bronze medal in the Men's 470 Class, for the Soviet Union (silver, 1988) and for Estonia (bronze, 1992).
Skiing Skiing is very popular in Estonia. Otepää is a popular skiing resort. Otepää is also known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer capital" Pärnu). It is also the annual Cross-country skiing World Cup event. The 2011 Nordic Junior World Ski Championships was held in Otepää also.
In 2000, Raul Olle won Vasaloppet, which is amongst the oldest, longest, and biggest cross-country ski races in the world.
In 1999 Estonian skiing found success at international level, winning medals at World Championships. Estonia has won 4 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze medal at the Winter Olympic Games.
Olympic medals: 2002, 2006, and 2010. World Championships medals: 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2009.
Andrus Veerpalu, Kristina Šmigun-Vähi and Jaak Mae are some of the most popular athletes in Estonia.
Speed skating