 |
|
| KIRPU Erika |
| NOC |
Estonia
|
| Gender | Women |
| Born |
22 Jun 1992
in Moscow, RUS
|
| Height | 1.74 m |
|
|
|
General Interest |
| Other information |
BUSINESS
She is a co-founder of the Future Champions Academy that operates in Acireale, Italy, and organises fencing camps and social events around the world. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2023)
COACHED BY DAD
She was coached by her father Victor Kirpu during her junior and cadet years. In 2018 he passed away from lung cancer. "Though my childhood was cool, I still remember myself as being nervous and always unsatisfied. I don't even know why. Maybe it was because I didn't win. All of my life, I focused on the result. When I didn't win, everything seemed wrong to me. I drew my attention to all of the little things. Finally I started to show results in the cadets and juniors. My dad was the head coach of the Estonian junior and cadet teams and it was a great time for me, I call it my 'golden era'. We won many medals at the European championships, and once we even won the world junior championships in a team in 2010. It was a great period when I looked up to him all the time. He was an authority for me. In our club, he was an authority for everyone. This continued until about 2012, when I tried to qualify for the Olympic Games in London. I didn't qualify, but moved to senior level. When I told him that I probably needed something else, he understood and agreed with me. He said, 'That's all I can give you, and I don't mind if you want more'. My dad never left the role of a coach. It was impossible to pull him apart from this role in any way." (Betsafe Baltimaad YouTube channel, 13 Jan 2021; academyoffencingmasters.com, 23 Jul 2020; sport.err.ee, 11 Oct 2018)
FURTHER EDUCATION
In November 2021 she began studying for a master's degree in digital communication and media. She has previously worked as a communications specialist at a Swiss digital marketing company. "I want to have some fallback so that my income doesn't fully depend on fencing." (LinkedIn profile, 01 Nov 2021; Betsafe Baltimaad YouTube channel, 13 Jan 2021) |
| Hero / Idol |
Korean fencer Oh Sang-Uk. (FIE Fencing Channel YouTube channel, 14 Jul 2021) |
| Milestones |
Along with Julia Beljajeva, Irina Embrich, and Katrina Lehis, she was part of the women's epee team that won Estonia's first gold medal in fencing at the Olympic Games. They beat the Republic of Korea in the final at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 Apr 2022; estonianworld.com, 27 Jul 2021) |
| Famous relatives |
Her partner Enrico Garozzo has represented Italy in fencing. He was part of the men's epee squad that won team silver at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Her late father Viktor represented Estonia in fencing and served as head coach of the Estonian fencing team. Her mother Irina Satanenko has worked as a fencing coach at the Tartu Kalev club in Estonia. (delfi.ee, 03 Jun 2020; sport.ohtuleht.ee, 11 Oct 2018; sport.delfi.ee, 27 Jun 2018; SportsDeskOnline, 15 Jun 2017; tartupostimees.ee, 20 Apr 2012) |
Sport Specific Information |
| Name of coach |
Kaido Kaaberma [national], EST |
| Handedness |
Right |
| When and where did you begin this sport? |
She took up the sport at age seven, and began competing in 2004. |
Further Personal Information |
| Occupation |
Athlete, Business Owner |
| Languages |
English, Estonian, Italian, Russian |
| Higher education |
Law - Tallinn University of Technology: Estonia |
General Interest |
| Awards and honours |
In 2022 she received the Order of the White Star 2nd class in recognition of her services to the Estonian state following her gold medal in team epee at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (sport.delfi.ee, 21 Feb 2022)
She and her teammates Julia Beljajeva, Irina Embrich, and Katrina Lehis received the Best Female Multiple Athlete Event of Tokyo 2020 prize at the 2021 ANOC [Association of National Olympic Committees] Awards in Crete, Greece. (fie.org, 25 Oct 2021; anocolympic.org, 24 Oct 2021)
She was part of Estonia's Team of the Year for 2013, 2014, and 2017. (Facebook page, 18 Jun 2018; laanlane.ee, 27 Dec 2017)
She was named the 2014 Best Female Athlete in Estonia. (Facebook page, 18 Jun 2018) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Out of difficulties grow miracles." (Facebook page, 13 Jun 2018) |
Further Personal Information |
| Residence |
Milan, ITA |
Sport Specific Information |
| Why this sport? |
"My parents were both fencing coaches. They brought me to the salle as an infant, basically I grew up in the salle. I didn't even think I could be doing something else. As soon as they gave me my first epee, I realised it was mine and I would never let go of it." |
| Olympic Games |
| 2020 |
1 |
Team Epee |
Tokyo, Japan |
| 2016 |
4 |
Team Epee |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| World Championships |
| 2017 |
1 |
Team Epee |
Leipzig, Germany |
| 2014 |
2 |
Team Epee |
Kazan, Russia |
| 2014 |
3 |
Individual Epee |
Kazan, Russia |
| European Championships |
| 2022 |
7 |
Individual Epee |
Antalya, Turkey |
| 2018 |
3 |
Team Epee |
Novi Sad, Serbia |
| 2017 |
4 |
Team Epee |
Tbilisi, Georgia |
| 2013 |
1 |
Team Epee |
Zagreb, Croatia |
| |
|
|