Aigro Injury Clouds Estonia's Olympic Hopes Amid Winter Sports Boom
Estonia is dispatching a 32-athlete team to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, but top ski jumper Artti Aigro has withdrawn from the normal hill event due to a lingering leg injury, casting a shadow over a national team bolstered by a 40% surge in domestic winter sports participation over the last decade.
- —Estonia is sending 32 athletes to compete in 11 winter sports at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, which begin on February 6, 2026.
- —Participation in organized winter Olympic sports in Estonia has grown by 40% over the past decade, with a significant increase in younger participants.
- —Several Estonian athletes are making final preparations, including figure skater Aleksandr Selevko training alongside top international competitors and speed skater Marten Liiv assessing the Olympic track.
- —Ski jumper Artti Aigro has withdrawn from the normal hill event due to a lingering leg injury sustained in December 2025, but aims to compete in the large hill event.
- —Marten Liiv will carry the Estonian flag at the opening ceremony at the San Siro stadium.
Recap
Estonia's narrative for the 2026 Games is a classic study in contrast: a positive national trend of growing sports participation provides good optics, but the immediate medal prospects hinge on the physical precarity of a key athlete. Artti Aigro's injury setback reveals the harsh mechanics of high-performance sport, where a single bad landing can undermine years of preparation and national hopes. The focus now shifts from broad participation statistics to the specific, high-stakes recovery of one individual.