President Kersti Kaljulaid s decision Thursday to strip former cross-country ski star Andrus Veerpalu of his two state decorations brings the total number of individuals so divested of their awards to fourteen.
President Kaljulaid has recalled a total of four state awards from recipients in her tenure so far. Toomas Hendrik Ilves took away the remaining 10, during his two-term stint as president, 2006-2016.
Ilves predecessors, Arnold Rüütel and, before him, Lennart Meri, doled out state awards perhaps more prolifically, and many of those who have been demoted in this way – including Andrus Veerpalu – had received their awards during the first two presidents terms.
0 >Andrus Veerpaul (left) after clinching his medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. Source: Toomas Huik/Postimees/Scanpix
President Kersti Kaljulaid is to strip veteran Estonian cross country skier Andrus Veerpalu of his state awards, in the light of a two-year ban he recently received for involvement in illicit blood doping, the president s office announced Thursday.
Veerpalu, 50, was awarded the Red Cross, 1st class by then-president Arnold Rüütel in 2002, the year he won Winter Olympic Gold at the Salt Lake City games, followed by the Order of the White Star, 1st class, four years later, the year he bagged another Gold medal at the Winter Olympics, this time in Turin, Italy.
ALISA CAMPLIN-WARNER APPOINTMENT FOR BEIJING 2022 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES 03/07/21
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has announced the appointment of Alisa Camplin-Warner AM as Deputy Chef de Mission for the Australian Team to compete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Ms Camplin-Warner, Australia’s first female Winter Olympic Gold medallist (Salt Lake City 2002) was Performance Manager for the Australian Team at the PyeongChang Winter Games in 2018 and has previously been Chef de Mission for the Australian Team at the Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympic Games.
She has also been on the Board for the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA) for more than 15 years as well as previously holding numerous leadership roles in sport, including Deputy Chair Australian Sports Commission, Chair of the Australian Sports Foundation and Director of the Collingwood Football Club.
On This Day in 2014: Lizzy Yarnold wins Winter Olympic gold in Sochi
Lizzie Yarnold won Winter Olympic Gold in Sochi (David Davies/PA)
Lizzy Yarnold shone in Sochi as she blitzed her rivals by almost a second to claim Winter Olympic gold for Great Britain on this day in 2014.
A day that had started with a trip to the top of a nearby mountain and a diet of British TV dramas ended with a 0.97 seconds victory margin over her closest rival Noelle Pikus-Pace and handing a Valentine’s card to her boyfriend, sled designer James Roche, at the finish line.