Kanter Finishes First in Olympics Discus Qualifier

Discus thrower Gerd Kanter, arguably Estonia's last best hope for coming away from the London Olympics with a medal, achieved the top score in the event's qualifying round on Monday.

Gerd Kanter will participate in the discus final on Tuesday. Kanter's throw of 66.39 meters was well over the 65 meters needed for automatic qualification, putting him among the 12 who will compete for gold on Tuesday evening.

 Kanter made his qualifying throw during a tense third attempt after poor results had threatened to knock him out of the competition. His opening throw was disqualified, while his second throw reached a disappointing 59.72m.

The two other Estonians taking part in the discus qualifier, Mart Israel and Aleksander Tammert, had top throws of 60.34 m and 60.20 m respectively, not enough to proceed to the final.

Kanter, a 33-year-old Tallinn native, won the gold medal in discus in Beijing in 2008. More recently, he took silver in both the 2011 World Athletics Championships and in the 2012 European Athletics Championships.

Estonian Public Broadcasting