This is the 54th season the series has been held, and this week's games were stage four, the penultimate of the season.

Girls' events

Nearly 70 competitors took part in the shot put final, where Kertu Mäll, 13, from Rahumäe Põhikool basic school showed strong nerves and delivered her best result, 55.55 meters, her last attempt (a lighter shot than in the adult event is used at school level, and the event is really a ball throw rather than classic shot put – ed.).

Mäll has been practicing athletics for four years and said: "I pulled myself together on the last attempt and put all my energy into it. It was surprising that I improved with the last throw."

The remaining podium places also went to girls who had shown fast arms in previous stages of the series. Marielle Leesalu of Põlva school was second (52.13 meters) while Lilli-Regina Varik of Viljandi Kesklinna Kool came third (51.12 meters).

With the 600-gram discus in the older girls' group, the winner was Luise Remmel, 13, of Tartu Veeriku Kool, coached by her parents. She had already won shot put and pole vault earlier this season, and put in a discus throw of 39.56 meters, punting her up to third place in the series ranking.

Remmel was nevertheless somewhat self-critical when assessing her performance, citing a lack of consistency, saying: "It didn't go as well as I wanted. The technique wasn't the best, but the best attempt was more or less okay. I improved my personal record by six meters, but it could've been better. I drop one shoulder and then somehow the discus slips away."

The record stands at 44.05, by Katarina Verst, achieved in Tartu in 2021, since the current weight of the discus has been used.

Other highlights include Emma Jürisoo of Pärnu Sütevaka Humanitaargümnaasium's second in the discus with a throw of 37.49 meters, also finishing fifth in the shot put. Karmela Kõiv from Gustav Adolfi Gümnaasium in Tallinn won the 600-meter run in a time of 1:40.21, edging Marit Tarm by 14 hundredths of a second. Marietta Verst from Tartu Tamme Kool placed third with 1:40.81, and Sofia Rebecca Egel from Tallinn's Kindluse Kool took fourth with 1:41.18, improving her personal best by seven seconds.

The final act of this season – the combined event final – will be held from June 12–13 at Karksi-Nuia stadium in Viljandi County. The older girls will take part in an octathlon competitive format.

Boys' events

Meanwhile, in the boys' events, a mere few thousandths of a second separated the two fastest boys in the 1,000 meters.

The winners in the younger age group boys were also determined in the discus and the shot.

Stage four took place a couple of weeks earlier than usual, meaning the preliminary rounds in the regions had given the youngsters a proper test.

Türi Põhikooli basic school's PE teacher and coach Liisa Gritšenko said: "We started outdoor training as early as March, simply because one gym went under renovation and we figured the weather was now suitable to move outside. The children got hardened to it, and coped well."

The boys under 12, which saw 60 competitors on the track, the fourth stage featured a thrilling duel between Henrik Vahlberg from Tartu Luterliku Peetri Kool and Uku Paul Pae from Kose Gümnaasium.

Both boys completed the one-kilometer distance at Kadriorg Stadium in 3:09.34, finishing neck-and-neck after giving their all.

In order to determine a winner, the comparison had to come all the way down to thousandths of a second, which gave the decidedly narrow victory to Vahlberg.

Vahlberg said of his result: "I was very satisfied because I won and I'm very happy because I improved my personal record by about ten seconds."

The 1-kilometer run's roster of former winners is an impressive one: Current men's national football team and St. Pauli (Germany) midfielder Karol Mets, who won in 2005 with a time of 3:12.5, and ranks exactly 50th on the all-time list. Decathletes Kristjan Rosenberg and Janek Õiglane placed 15th and 21st in that same race.

11-year-old Remo Kald, a student at Türi Põhikool, won the younger boys' shot put with a distance of 62.05 meters.

Coach Gritšenko said: "Just give him the equipment and he performs brilliantly. You say, here's the high jump bar, go over it – and he does it very well. He picks up technique excellently and very quickly. Right now, he has many different interests. He goes to basketball practice, plays table tennis, and gets in a couple of track and field sessions just before the competition."

Among other highlights, Chris Robin Saavel from Valga Põhikool took second place with a throw over 57 meters, while Reio-Laur Ivanov of Kuressaare Vanalinna school earned third with a 55-meter throw. In the younger boys' discus throw, Art Aleksander Tatter of Tallinn Realkool, aged 11, won with a 39.69-meter throw, improving his personal best by 6 meters. Travis Viires from Karksi-Nuia's August Kitzberg Gümnaasium placed fifth with 35.65 meters, while Tomi Järvekülg from Paikuse Kool in Pärnu County claimed third. Since 2018, younger boys have used a 600g discus, with the series record held by Sten Erik Iir at 41.15 meters from 2019.

The boys' final event of the season also takes place June 12–13 at Karksi-Nuia stadium, where the older boys will compete in a decathlon, or properly speaking a "nonathlon," as it will have nine disciplines.

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