Jaak MAE

Jaak Mae started skiing in 1986 and soon rose to be one of the top Estonian cross-country skiers, although throughout his career, he was under the shadow of another great Estonian skier Andrus Veerpalu. Like his compatriot Veerpalu, Mae was also considered a very strong classical skier. The high point of his career was probably at the 2002 Winter Olympics, where Mae won a somewhat surprising bronze medal in 15 km classical. Next year, at the 2003 World Championships, Mae won his only other major international tournament medal, by finishing second in 15 km classical.

His other top performances at major international tournaments were placing fifth in 15 km classical at both the 2006 Winter Olympics and 2009 World Championships. During his career, Mae never won a World Cup race, but finished second and third three times each, usually behind Veerpalu in 15 km classical races, except in 2002 when he was second in 10 km freestyle at Nove Mesto. His best overall World Cup finish was sixth in the 2001-02 season. Domestically, Mae won 22 Estonian titles between 1990-12.

Mae finished his international career in 2011, although he continued to compete domestically. In 2011 was named a board member of the Estonian Cross-Country Skiing Federation and in 2013 became the general secretary of the Estonian Cross-Country Skiing Federation. He became a member of the FIS World and Continental Cup Committee in 2012 and from 2011 has been chairman of the organizing committee for the Otepää World Cup event. He was also a board member of Sports Gene OÜ, an Estonian research firm, whose objective is to provide various genetic tests and consultations related to sports and better quality of life.