In his thank you speech, President Ilves stressed the example of successful athletes for young people as well as the importance of the achieved victories for the self-awareness of Estonians. “The positive emotions provided by Gerd Kanter have not price; at the moment of victory every Estonian felt like the world’s best,“ said the President.
The President also thanked Icelander Vesteinn Hafsteinsson, who is Kanter’s coach and mentor, which every talented young person needs to reach the top. The President recommended that Raul Rebane, the head of the team, patent the method that has been the basis of their success. “This proves that in championship sports an individual competition is actually a team competition,” President Ilves acknowledged.
As a remembrance of the meeting with the President, Kanter, Hafsteinsson and Rebane received a picture with the President and a book dedicated by him.
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