Ants Antson

Ants Antson (11 November 1938 – 31 October 2015) was an Estonian speed skater who competed for the Soviet Union.[1]

Ants Antson

Ants Antson in 1966
Personal information
Born	11 November 1938 Tallinn, Estonia
Died	31 October 2015 (aged 76)
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	84 kg (185 lb)
Sport
Sport	Speed skating
Club	Kalev Tallinn
Medal record Representing the  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1964 Innsbruck 1500 m

Biography

Antson trained at the Kalev Voluntary Sports Society. Coached by former World, Olympic, and European Champion Boris Shilkov, Antson had his best year in 1964, when he became European Allround Champion, won the 1500 m event at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, and set a new world record in the 3000 m at the same games. For his achievements that year, he received the Oscar Mathisen Award.[1]

The two gold medals Antson won in 1964 turned out to be his only international medals, although he did win some national medals at the Soviet Allround Championships – gold in 1967, silver in 1965 and 1968, and bronze in 1966. He participated in the 1500 m at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, but despite skating a new personal record, he finished only twelfth.[1]

He retired shortly after the 1968 Games and worked as a sports official, first in the Soviet Estonian Committee for Physical Culture and Sports, and later with the Estonian Olympic Committee. At the 1992 Winter Olympics he became the first flag bearer for Estonia after it became independent from the Soviet Union.[1]

In 1965, Antson married Estonian film actress Eve Kivi, the couple would divorce in 1972. He later married Ene Antson and the couple remained married until his death; one week and four days before his 77th birthday.

Medals

An overview of medals won by Antson at important championships he participated in, listing the years in which he won each:[1]

Championships	Gold medal	Silver medal	Bronze medal
Winter Olympics	1964 (1500 m)	–	–
World Allround	–	–	–
European Allround	1964	–	–
Soviet Allround	1967	1965 1968	1966

Records

World records

Over the course of his career, Antson skated one world record:[1]

Discipline	Time	Date	Location
3000 m	4:27.3	11 February 1964	Oslo

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[2]

Personal records

To put these personal records in perspective, the WR column lists the official world records on the dates that Antson skated his personal records.

Event	Result	Date	Venue	WR
500 m	40.7	16 January 1968	Medeo	39.5
1500 m	2:07.2	16 February 1968	Grenoble	2:02.5
3000 m	4:27.3	11 February 1964	Oslo	4:27.6
5000 m	7:34.8	16 January 1968	Medeo	7:26.2
10000 m	15:57.7	18 January 1964	Oslo	15:33.0
Big combination	177,198	17 January 1968	Medeo	176.982

Source: SpeedskatingResults.com[3]

Antson has an Adelskalender score of 176.465 points. His highest ranking on the Adelskalender was fourth place.

References

1. Ants Antson. sports-reference.com
2. "Ants Antson". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
3. "Ants Antson". SpeedskatingResults.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.

External links

• Ants Antson at SpeedSkatingStats.com
• Personal records from Jakub Majerski's Speedskating Database
• Evert Stenlund's Adelskalender pages
• Results of Soviet Championships at SpeedSkating.ru
• Legends of Soviet Sport (in Russian)