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Coach's tears flow as three Estonian girls reach European Championship medal matches
🇪🇪 Estonia /Sports

Coach's tears flow as three Estonian girls reach European Championship medal matches

From Postimees · () Estonian

Translated from Estonian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Three young Estonian wrestlers, coached by Janar Sõber, achieved a remarkable feat by reaching the medal matches at the U15 European Championships in Bulgaria.
  • Coach Sõber expressed disbelief and emotional joy, stating that such an accomplishment, with all three of his students competing for medals, had never happened before in Estonia.
  • The wrestlers, who have trained together for years and are close friends, are now considering their future options for continuing their wrestling careers after high school.

Coach Janar Sõber is still reeling from an "unbelievable" achievement at the U15 European Wrestling Championships in Bulgaria, where all three of his young proteges reached the medal matches. Sõber, who has coached the girls since they were children at the Lääneranna sports school, described the experience as a "fairytale" that left him emotional even days later.

It's phenomenal! Unique! No one in Estonia has ever done this before, that a coach has three students at the European Championships, and they all make it to the medal matches.

— Janar SõberThe coach's emotional reaction to his students' success at the U15 European Championships.

"It's phenomenal! Unique! No one in Estonia has ever done this before, that a coach has three students at the European Championships, and they all make it to the medal matches," Sõber said, his voice breaking with emotion. "Absolutely unbelievable! Damn it, I'm still getting teary-eyed. Justice prevailed: if you've been doing this work for so long, training the girls for ten years... it just had to end well!"

Absolutely unbelievable! Damn it, I'm still getting teary-eyed. Justice prevailed: if you've been doing this work for so long, training the girls for ten years... it just had to end well!

— Janar SõberExpressing his overwhelming joy and sense of vindication after the wrestlers' achievement.

The three wrestlers – 13-year-old Mia Tšekenjuk, 14-year-old Marleen Takk, and 15-year-old Johanna Mölder – are not only teammates but also close friends. Sõber, who also teaches them at Lääneranna Gymnasium, sees them more than his own children, having coached Takk and Mölder since they were five years old and Tšekenjuk since second grade.

Mia goes to eighth grade. Marleen and Johanna are in seventh grade together, and I am their class teacher.

— Janar SõberDescribing the close relationship between the wrestlers and his role as their teacher.

While Sõber has a background in Greco-Roman wrestling, the girls compete in freestyle wrestling. He admitted he has had to learn a lot to coach them effectively, but the results speak for themselves. The future for the talented trio after high school remains uncertain, as opportunities for women's wrestling are limited, with potential options including training in Viljandi.

Johanna didn't dare to come to kindergarten yet because Janar seemed like such a big and scary man. In second grade, her mother brought her by the hand and said that this girl is such a fighter and she needs to wrestle!

— Janar SõberRecounting how one of the wrestlers, Johanna, initially feared him but was encouraged to pursue wrestling.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Postimees in Estonian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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