Kristina Šmigun-Vähi is a former and so far most successful Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

n female cross-country skier

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

. Her parents, Anatoli Šmigun and Rutt Rehemaa were both prominent Nordic skiers. Kristina Šmigun-Vähi is coached by her father.

On 12 February 2006, she won the Winter Olympics

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

 gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 for the 7.5 km + 7.5 km double pursuit, becoming the first Estonian woman to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Four days later, she won a second gold medal in the 10 km classical.

On 15 February 2010, she won her third Olympic medal

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

, a silver in the 10 km freestyle race. With two golds and one silver, Kristina Šmigun-Vähi is the most successful Estonian athlete in Olympic history (summer or winter), tying the record of men's cross-country skier Andrus Veerpalu

Andrus Veerpalu

Andrus Veerpalu is a former and so far the most successful Estonian male cross country skier.On 17 February 2006 he won his second Winter Olympics gold medal , becoming the fourth Estonian to have won two Olympic gold medals Andrus Veerpalu (born 8 February 1971 in Pärnu) is a former and so far...

.

Šmigun-Vähi has also found success at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and since 1954 for women. Championship events include nordic skiing's three disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined...

, earning six medals. This included one gold (2003: 5 km + 5 km double pursuit), three silvers (1999: 15 km, 2003: 10 km, 15 km), and two bronzes (1999, 2003: both in 30 km).

On 2 July 2010, Šmigun-Vähi announced that she will quit her professional sport career to focus on her family and her daughter Victoria-Kris.

World Cup overall results

Season	Overall result
2010	32 2009–10 FIS Cross-Country World Cup The 2009–10 FIS Cross-Country World Cup was a multi-race tournament over the season for cross-country skiers. The season started 21 November 2009 in Beitostølen, Norway and ended on 21 March 2010 in Falun, Sweden. The World Cup was organised by the FIS who also run world cups and championships in...
2007	11 2006-07 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup The 2006–07 FIS Cross-Country World Cup is a multi race tournament over a season for cross-country skiers. The season began on 28 October 2006 with 800m sprint races for women in Düsseldorf which was eventually won by Marit Bjørgen of Norway...
2006	17
2005	4
2004	5
2003	2
2002	4
2001	10
2000	2

Individual World Cup races

16 wins (14 Individual, 2 Sprint)

Date	Location	Race
11 March 2007	Lahti Lahti Lahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...	10k
18 December 2004	Ramsau am Dachstein Ramsau am Dachstein Ramsau am Dachstein is a municipality in the district of Liezen, state of Styria, Austria. It is also the name of the elevated plateau between the Dachstein range and the Enns valley on which this municipality is located....	15k
28 November 2004	Kuusamo Kuusamo Kuusamo is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Oulu province and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....	10k
21 December 2003	Ramsau am Dachstein Ramsau am Dachstein Ramsau am Dachstein is a municipality in the district of Liezen, state of Styria, Austria. It is also the name of the elevated plateau between the Dachstein range and the Enns valley on which this municipality is located....	Pursuit
6 December 2003	Toblach Toblach Toblach is a comune/Gemeinde in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located in the Puster Valley about 110 km northeast of the city of Trento and about 70 km northeast of the city of Bolzano, on the border with Austria.As of November 30, 2010, it had a...	15k
29 November 2003	Kuusamo Kuusamo Kuusamo is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the Oulu province and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....	Pursuit
22 November 2003	Beitostoelen	10k
4 January 2003	Kavgolovo	5k
23 November 2002	Kiruna Kiruna Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...	5k
2 March 2002	Lahti Lahti Lahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...	10k
22 December 2001	Ramsau am Dachstein Ramsau am Dachstein Ramsau am Dachstein is a municipality in the district of Liezen, state of Styria, Austria. It is also the name of the elevated plateau between the Dachstein range and the Enns valley on which this municipality is located....	15k
3 March 2000	Lahti Lahti Lahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...	Sprint
16 February 2000	Ulrichen	5k
28 December 1999	Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...	Sprint
10 December 1999	Sappada Sappada Sappada is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 130 km north of Venice and about 60 km northeast of Belluno...	10k
12 January 1999	Nové Město Nove Mesto Nove Mesto, meaning "New Town" in Czech and Slovak, may refer to:* Nové Město , places in the Czech Republic* Nové Mesto , places in Slovakia and Hungary...	15k

Personal life

Kristina is married to her long-time manager Kristjan-Thor Vähi (07.07.2007). She did not participate in the 2007–08 season due to pregnancy

Pregnancy

Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...

 and she also missed the following 2008–2009 season. Her daughter Victoria-Kris was born in June 2008.

External links