5 Olympics – Five Different Situations

1. 5 Olympics –Five Different Situations Aleksander Tammert

2. Aleksander Tammert Trained under the guidance of Aleksander Tammert sen ja Dave Wollman. Atlanta 1996 25th place Sydney 2000 9th place Athens 2004 III place Beijing 2008 12th place London 2012 27th place. Carried the Estonian flag during the opening ceremony 2006 - Gothenburg EC III place Part of the Estonian national team since 1993. Estonian champion in shot put, weight-lifting and power-lifting. Organizer of an international discus throw and shot put competition. Since 2010 head of the Estonian Sports Association Kalev. Married to a former javelin thrower Elizabeta Tammert. Father of Alissa (10) and Izabela (5). 2.02.1973 Discus thrower and coach Personal best 70.82

3. 1973-1994.Training under the guidance of my father • Diversepreparationwithoutforcingthings too much. • A timeoffinancialdifficulties. Therewere no subsidiesbackthen. • 1993 – forthefirsttimetheEstonianchampionindiscusthrow.

4. 1994-1998.Student in a US University • A student athlete under the guidance of coach Dave Wollmann. • No real financial problems because free studying, living and food were guaranteed. • I was equally motivated to learn a profession and to train. Student life was good and fun. smu.edu Dave Wollman

5. 1999-2000. Becoming a professional • I made my own training plans and consulted with Dave Wollmann and father. • Attracting sponsors, commitment. A strong growth of motivation. • From January 2000 trainings with Alekna.

6. 2001-2004. Successful Olympic Cycle • Years of gathering and analysing information about myself and making my own plans. • Improving my weak spots. • Technical support from Wollmann, improving technique. • Marriage, a child, family life. • Father was the manager of the team. EOK Ateena OG III sport.err

7. 2005-2008.Ongoing self-improvement, raising professionalism • Maturing. • The best season of my life was the season of 2006. Beijing OG 12. • Improving technique, developing speed. Gothenburg EC III

8. 2009-2012. Amateur sports • Minimal training subsidies. • Just keeping myself going.

9. Physical Pointers Through the Years

10. Father-son or coach-athlete relationship … itisconstantlychanging and developing. • Until1994 myfatherwasthemastermindbehind all thetrainingactivities. • I followedhisinstructionsforthefirsttwoyearsinthe USA – heprioritizedmakingheadwayintechniquebecausehisviewwasthatstrengthcanalwaysbedevelopedlater. • In1998, aftergraduatingfromuniversity I wasmatureenoughtocreate a framefortrainingplansmyself. Myfatherbecamemoreof a managerbutinthe summer in Estonia heaccompaniedmytrainingsasanadvisor..

11. Father-son or coach-athlete relationship • I think that a good coach/parent must sense his role in the team and shouldn’t force his will on the athlete. • It is good for the athlete when that role is made clear and accepted by the whole team. • I see having my father as coach as a purely positive thing. I wouldn’t have wanted an authoritarian coach like they used to have in the USSR. sport.err

12. Financial issues • 1973-1994 were financially difficult years. Stomach was full, but we didn’t have any instruments or equipment. • Conditions became ideal-like after moving to the USA. Equipment, instruments and catering were 100% guaranteed. Bodyweight increased due to fixed eating habits and a daily routine from 112kg to 122 kg. In 1999 our team welcomed ESS and Sõõrumaa as our sponsors. • For the first time we had means to train in the Republic of South Africa and elsewhere. This opportunity paved the road for organizing camps with Alekna. Results improved, I could reinvest prize money into my training program. In 2004 I could for the first time hire a physiotherapist. A new step towards professionalism! Mostly thanks to this I was able to make another leap forward. • Financial problems reoccured at the end of 2008. Because of that I am mainly and amateur athlete. Even small amounts of money have to be effectively used.

13. Rivals.Jason Tunks (CAN) • The biggest and most exciting rival during college years. We were two completely different persons with completely different characteristics but we had always very similar results (school work, strength, technique, flexibility, etc.) Born: 7.05.1975 Personal best: 67.88 Atlanta 1996 33rd place Sidney 2000 6th place Athens 2004 15th place athletics.ca

14. Rivals.Virgilijus Alekna (LTU) • The world’s best discus thrower. As training partners we had a unique relationship. • Already in 2000 I managed to beat him several times. Later he became almost undefeatable. • Learning from him (work ethics, technique, strength training). Born 5.02.1972 Personal best: 63.88 Atlanta 1996 5th place Sidney 2000 I place Athens 2004 I place

15. Rivals.Gerd Kanter (EST) • From being a local rival to the top of the world. At first, I didn’t see his ability to go very far but he managed to improve his weaks spots significantly. • From 2002 to 2006 we competed hard against each other. Born 6.05.1979 Personal best: 73.38 Athens 2004 19th place Beijing 2008 I place London 2012 III place

16. Mental preparedness • Technical preparedness, • health, • physical form, • throwing conditions.

17. Staying motivated through the years • The skill to motivate yourself vs. being motivated by others.

18. How to avoid running upon rocks or injury-free sports • A bit less is better than over the limit (Aleksander Tammert sen). • Avoid potentially dangerous exercises (Dave Wollmann). • Feel your body (Aleksander Tammert jun). • General preparation – strengthen all the links of the chain! • Technical preparation – you always have to keep improving your technique because when you become physically more capable, you can add more difficult technical nuances.

19. Thank you! Longlasting, successful and injuries-free career for all of you!