World Champion’s Confession: He Once Drank 30 Liters of Vodka a Month

Andrus Värnik’s path from world javelin champion to a quieter life coaching young athletes passed through a decade of addiction. In a 2025 documentary, the Estonian athlete recalled drinking a liter of vodka every day for several months in 2009.

“It was brutal: I drank 30 liters of vodka a month,” Värnik said in the film. His former manager, Aivaras Karotamas, told Finland’s Iltalehti that Värnik has now been sober for 10 years. According to Karotamas, the problems began soon after the biggest victory of Värnik’s career.

Panic attacks troubled him in 2005 and 2006, and he tried to suppress the tension with alcohol. Over time, he spent the prize money he had earned through sport. Financial difficulties forced him to sell a luxury home in Tallinn. He later tried to earn money in construction in Finland, but alcohol use at work caused problems there as well.

In 2014, Värnik received a two-year-and-one-month suspended sentence for repeated violence against his partner. After he violated the conditions, a court ordered him to undergo addiction treatment. He eventually returned to his childhood home in Antsla, where he lived with his mother.

Documentary director Madis Reimund said Värnik was completely open on camera and now lives more calmly while training young track-and-field athletes. Värnik won world championship silver in Paris in 2003, then took the title in Helsinki in 2005 with a throw of 87.17 meters.

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It was brutal: I drank 30 liters of vodka a month.