Estonian Olympic Committee member aiming to oust Kersti Kaljulaid as president
A member of the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK) is aiming to remove Kersti Kaljulaid as the organization's president, citing the mismanagement of controversy over a prominent sporting family, Delfi reported.
Heino Märks, a former defence forces sports chief, hopes to collect the required number of signatures to bring the motion of no confidence to the table, which would require the EOK to convene a general meeting on an extraordinary basis.
"What is happening today is completely incomprehensible. All sorts of unclear campaigns are being carried out, and the coach of the only Olympic medal-winning athlete [Tõnis Sildaru] is being sidelined. Essentially, sport is being divided," Märks enumerated as his criticisms of Kaljulaid.
Tõnis Sildaru is the coach and father of Henry Sildaru, 19, who was Estonia's sole medal winner at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics last month, where he took silver in the freestyle skiing halfpipe event. While Henry has stuck by his father, Kelly Sildaru, also a freestyle ski star and Henry's older sibling, recently accused Tõnis of physical abuse. This is in addition to allegations of embezzlement made against Tõnis and which are the subject of an ongoing court case.
Sildaru senior has charged Kaljulaid of heading up a vendetta against him, saying earlier in the week: "I sincerely believe that sport should unite society, not divide it. But at present, under Kersti Kaljulaid's leadership, the EOK has chosen a path of conflict and attacks, bringing personal sympathies and resentment into the governance of Estonian sport. This is no longer the leadership of a national umbrella organization for sport, but a personal crusade."
He says he has returned a €35,000 stipend which he was awarded following Henry's silver medal win. This sum had been awarded via a special EOK decision and was not automatic, on the grounds that Tõnis Sildaru does not hold a formal coaching qualification.
Märks was confident of his initiative's chances. "My prediction is that it will go through," he said.
A quorum of 10 percent (12 signatures) is required from the EOK for the meeting to go ahead; Märks said he hopes to amass a larger number of backers than that.
"I have commitments from people who won't back out, but I would like to get more than the minimum [needed to convene an extraordinary general meeting]. At the moment, we already have more than the minimum, i.e. over 12 votes," Märks added.
Kaljulaid was elected EOK chief in October 2024. She was President of Estonia for one term, 2016–2021.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Anders Nõmm
