EDITORIAL ⟩ Who will take gold?

“Your love of sport is commendable, but perhaps you should wait for the Olympic Committee president and then keep running?!” – Caricature by Urmas Nemvalts Photo: Urmas Nemvalts.

• All candidates for president of the EOC have their strengths.
• Candidates' debates have enriched the attitudes towards Estonian sports.
• A compromise must be found between innovation and stability.

On Friday, the plenary assembly of the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOC) faces the difficult task of electing a new president from among three good candidates. Jokers have already said that the best candidate would be Kersti Sõõrumägi. But as always in life, you can't have everything good at once, you have to make a choice.

So, what are EOC members choosing between? If the goal was changes, the presentation skills of the EOC president or global recognition, then Kaljulaid should be elected. If stability and finding sponsorship money were the goal, then Sõõrumaa should be elected. However, if the goal was competence in sports, Teigamägi should, of course, be elected.

Each candidate therefore has their strengths and, unfortunately, weaknesses. Let's start with Urmas Sõõrumaa. He has been a good president of the EOC for two terms, is visible in the media and has made the right decisions on fundamental issues. His tenure is marked by the rise of the issue of sports ethics in Estonian sports and the war in Ukraine.

It's true that Estonia was left without a medal at the Paris Olympics and the EOC has been accused of a lack of fighting spirit. However, we didn't lack medal candidates, unfortunately we lacked luck. Therefore, our sports system is not broken, we have potential medalists. And it can already be foreseen that we will also have them in Milan in 2026 and in Los Angeles in 2028.

To Urmas Sõõrumaa’s credit, it can also be said that the Team Estonia project has been launched under his leadership. It is not yet ideal, but half of the work is better than no work. Masonry is more time-consuming and complicated than installing the last few roof tiles.

Regardless of the election result, the debates of the candidates have been interesting and have moved Estonian sports forward.

At the same time, eight years as the EOC president is a long time, and people may have become tired of Sõõrumaa, or rather, some have said that we need to go faster, higher, stronger, as is the Olympic motto. Those who would like changes would like to see Kaljulaid as president, and there is no doubt that she has new energy and that she would start enthusiastically organizing things in the EOC. However, in which direction and what specifically is another question altogether. Kaljulaid is rather a clean slate when it comes to the sports world and some of her recent sharp statements have made some sports people wary.

Taking this into account, a suitable compromise between innovation and stability would be provided by Teigamägi, who, having served as Sõõrumaa’s vice president for the most recent period, is well acquainted with the daily concerns of Estonian sports, sport federations and athletes. The top sports committee led by him has been operating efficiently. Unfortunately, according to some, there is a bomb attached to his leg called the Mehis Viru case. Despite this, Teigamägi would bring a breath of fresh air to the umbrella organization of Estonian sports, but certainly not a shock.

For its part, Postimees recommends that the EOC focus on top and achievement sports in the future, for which it has the best competence in Estonia, and leave recreational sports to be organized by others. Regardless of the election result, the debates of the candidates have been interesting and have moved Estonian sports forward. As Pierre de Coubertin said, it's not the winning but the taking part that counts.