BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Record lifts thrower's Games bid

Len Johnson

BENN Harradine broke one of the oldest records in Australian athletics when he threw the discus 65.37 metres at a meeting in Chula Vista, California, on Friday night, enhancing his chances of making the Beijing Olympic team

The previous record of 65.06 metres was set by Wayne Martin in Newcastle in 1979.

The 25-year-old Harradine finished second to last year's world champion Gerd Kanter of Estonia, who threw 70.38 metres, and ahead of US internationals Ian Waltz and Jarred Rome. Harradine's first throw of 63.89 exceeded his previous best, but was short of his main target, the Olympic A-standard of 64.50. On his second attempt, he pushed the disc past both that distance and the national record.

Harradine was one of 11 athletes given more time after the national championships to achieve the Olympic standards. He has been consistently over the 60-metre mark but the Olympic qualifier had remained frustratingly out of his reach until now. He has made a strong case to be added to the team. He will compete in several more US meetings before returning to Australia.

Hoellwarth will become Estonian coach

INNSBRUCK - Austrian ski jumper Martin Hoellwarth has ended his career and will become head coach of the Estonian national team.

"The last two years did not match my expectations," the 33-year-old Hoellwarth said Thursday. "Besides that, I got a great offer by the Estonian federation to become head coach and prepare its team for the near future."

Hoellwarth, a 1991 junior world champion, won three silver medals at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, and three world titles in team events in 2001 and 2005.

He also won eight World Cup events and finished runner-up three times in the prestigious Four Hills Tournament.

Kaia beaten in the 4th by Serena

MIAMI — Defending champion Serena Williams beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-3 6-3 on Monday to set up a repeat of last year’s Sony Ericsson Open final against world number one Justine Henin in the last eight.

Women — fourth round :

19-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) beat Ai Sugiyama (Japan) 6-2 6-7(5) 6-0, 8-Serena Williams (U.S.) beat Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) 6-3 6-3, 10-Elena Dementieva (Russia) beat Sabine Lisicki (Germany) 6-3 6-2, 4-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) beat Zheng Jie (China) 6-4 7-5, 3-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat 16-Shahar Peer (Israel) 7-6(4) 6-3, 1-Justine Henin (Belgium) beat Elena Vesnina (Russia) 6-2 6-2, 13-Dinara Safina (Russia) beat 32-Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) 6-3 6-4, 6-Venus Williams (U.S.) beat Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 6-3 6-3.

Sony Ericsson Open women's singles results

Sony Ericsson Open women's singles third-round results on Sunday.

Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) beat 11-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 6-0, 6-1

Miamis jätkuva WTA Tour'i 3,77 miljoni dollari suuruse auhinnafondiga turniiri Sony Ericsson Open 3. ringi kohtumises alistas Kaia 50 minutiga 11. asetusega Šveitsi tennisisti Patty Schnyder'i 6-0 6-1.

Top brass help Estonia dig for victory

Estonian Football Association (EJL) president Aivar Pohlak and injured international Raio Piiroja were unsung heroes as they shovelled snow to ensure that Wednesday's game against Canada went ahead.

Volunteer spirit
Estonia won the friendly 2-0 in Tallinn, but they might not have had the chance to play but for the efforts of a band of volunteers. These toiled to shift snow from the pitch at the capital city's A. Le Coq Arena following two days of snowstorms which had closed roads and caused flights to be cancelled.

Heavy downfall
Although the EJL had laid a plastic sheet over the pitch to prevent it freezing in the days before the match, the cover ended up under half a metre of snow after a heavy downfall in Estonia, beginning on Tuesday afternoon. Fans and volunteers helped to clear the field of play before kick-off, yet with the snow continuing, Pohlak and Piiroja joined supporters on the pitch at half-time as they shovelled snow off the surface.

Own goal
Fulham FC's Paul Stalteri may have wished they had not bothered. Having scored the opening goal when Canada beat Estonia 2-1 at the same venue five years ago, he was on target at the wrong end after 59 minutes, beating Kaimar Saag to Oliver Konsa's cross only to head into his own net. With time running out, Urmas Rooba's pass sent Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko clear and the FC Flora forward put the ball past Lars Hirschfeld for Estonia's second.

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Estonia defeats Canada 2-0

TALLINN - Estonia defeated Canada 2-0 in a men's soccer friendly on a snow-covered pitch at Lillekula Stadium on Wednesday.

Estonia got on the board in the 60th minute on a Paul Stalteri own goal. The veteran defender was hit in the chest with a cross and the ball went in over the head of goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld.

Estonia sealed the victory with a goal in the 88th minute.

"The first goal comes on a counterattack and the second goal comes when we're pushing to get the equalizer," said Canada head coach Dale Mitchell. "I think we were the team that carried the play for good parts of the match.

"But away from home, if you play against players who have some pace and some ability up front which almost all teams in Europe have, when you give it away they can make you pay for it. And that was really the difference in the game."

Work crews did their best to clear the field of snow before the game and at halftime but players still had to deal with cold, slippery conditions.

Made in Estonia, exported worldwide

Ten more Estonian players have moved abroad in winter 2008, with Mart Poom and Andres Oper having proved to be footballing pioneers in their homeland.

New ground
Some 24 Estonian players now ply their trade outside their home nation, in 13 different countries. This winter Dmitri Kruglov has become the first Estonian to move to Azerbaijan, joining PFC Neftchi Baku, while Konstantin Vassiljev has broken new ground for Estonian football by moving to Slovenia, where he has joined 1. Liga side NK Nafta Lendava.

Poom's travels
The most famous Estonian exports remain Poom and Oper. Some 16 years ago goalkeeper Poom left FC Sport Tallinn for Finnish side KuPS Kuopio and while he would later return home to play for FC Flora, his travels were far from over. He went on to play in Switzerland for FC Wil 1900 and since 1994 has been in England with Derby County FC, Sunderland AFC, Arsenal FC and now Watford FC.

Oper odyssey
Forward Oper became the most expensive player in Estonian history in 1999 when Danish side Aalborg BK paid €1m to sign him from Flora. "Since joining Aalborg it has been an interesting career," the striker told uefa.com.

Saku loses to Estonia pugilist

Africa welterweight champion Hassan “The Hitman” Saku started the new season on a wrong note by losing to Estonia’s Albert Starikov in Narva on Saturday.

The Stockholm- based Ugandan south paw, who lost the eight-round fight on points, used the contest as a build up for a possible showdown with former world champion Allan Vester, in Denmark next month. Saku dropped to 9 (8 KOS) 3-0. “Though he has lost this fight, I strongly believe that he will return for his next fight much much stronger,” his manager and promoter Eddie Bazira explained after the fight.

Saku to take on Starikov

Africa welterweight champion Hassan “The Hitman” Saku will begin his campaign this year with a fight against Albert Starikov in Estonia.

The fight, due today, comes after the hard punching south paw knocked down Tanzania’s Bagaza Mwambene in the round three to claim the African title. “Saku has been training hard for this fight and we are confident of he would do well,” his manager and promoter Eddie Bazira said. “I am helping him to build his career so that that at the right time, he can go for the bigger fights in the WBC, WBO or IBF divisions.”

Tomasz Radzinski lined up for Estonia

Mississauga’s Tomasz Radzinski will be in the national lineup for the first time since last November when Canada takes on Estonia in an international soccer friendly on March 26 in Tallinn.

A one-time forward/midfielder in the English Premiership for both Everton and Fulham, Radzinski is playing this season in Greece with Skoda Xanthi.

He'll be joined by former Malton Soccer Club competitor Paul Stalteri, who's currently playing for Fulham after a number of seasons with Tottenham Hotspurs. Stalteri is the senior member of the Canadian squad, making his 62nd appearance.

This Canadian team, which is preparing for its second international match of the year, is primarily comprised of European players. Of the 19 players announced to the team yesterday, 18 play in Europe.

The only exception is Dwayne De Rosario of the Houston Dynamo.

“It has been good to see that most of our European-based players have been getting a game each weekend with their professional clubs during the winter,” said Canadian coach Dale Mitchell. “This international date is a prime opportunity to get them together as a group. We will need to organize ourselves quickly on Monday and Tuesday before facing a very competitive Estonia team on Wednesday evening.”

Canada will be facing Estonia for the second time ever. Five years ago in Tallinn, Canada lost 2-1 in a friendly.
dwiner@mississauga.net