Yuri TARMAK

Jüri Tarmak was born to a sporting family. His father Aadu Tarmak was Soviet Champion in the discus throw in 1943-44 and won Estonian SSR shot put and discus titles in 1945-46. Jüri Tarmak took up athletics in 1963 and was on the Soviet national team from 1970-74. The apex of his career was winning high jump gold at the 1972 Olympics, and he was the last Olympic champion to use the straddle technique. Besides his Olympic gold, Tarmak won silver at the 1971 European Indoor Championships and a bronze medal at the 1972 European Indoor Championships. He never won a Soviet title, his only medal at the Soviet Championships a bronze in 1970. Tarmak was also the Estonian SSR champion in 1965-67.

Tarmak finished his sports career in 1974 and a year later graduated from Leningrad State University with an economics degree, later receiving a candidate of economics degree in 1985 and from 1985-90 worked as a lecturer at his alma mater. He moved back to Estonia after the fall of the Soviet Union and in 1990 established his own investment company, Broker Baltic AS, later working as a vice-president and economy consultant with the Tallinn Stock Exchange. From 2001-12 Tarmak was chairman of the sports club Kompass Tallinn and from 2006-09 was a board member of the association Sport Kõigile.

Personal Best: HJ – 2.25 (1972).