The story of Olympic freestyle silver medalist Henry Sildaru and his coach father Tõnis Sildaru has taken a new, rather unexpected turn: Tõnis has decided to return the prize awarded to him, writes Postimees.
The 19-year-old athlete won silver in the halfpipe at the games in Milan and Cortina. For this achievement, the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOC) together with the state provided a prize of 70,000 euros for the athlete and 35,000 euros for his coach.
However, there is a caveat: the coach must have a professional certificate, which Tõnis Sildaru does not possess. Therefore, the EOC exceptionally allocated the amount from its own funds.
In addition, the Olympic silver provides two years of Category A support from Team Estonia. As part of this support, a monthly payment of 2,900 euros is allocated to the salary fund, 2,200 euros for training, and 2,000 euros for the coach's needs.
Now Tõnis Sildaru has announced that he is refusing both the one-time prize and the monthly support to protect his son.
"Is a coach just a title on paper or a real job and result?" he titled his post on social media. "In the last week, I have had to think about self-identification more than ever. Am I a coach? At the World Cup stages, the Ski Association listed me as a coach. At the World Championships, I was accredited as a coach. At the Olympics, I wore a badge around my neck marked 'coach' – information that the EOC itself provided to the International Olympic Committee. Throughout the entire Olympic cycle, I worked daily with Henry. On the Olympic slope, I followed him, refining details and providing real-time feedback. This is the work that a coach does. This is the contribution that resulted in an Olympic medal. Henry has no other coach. Competitors know this, and it is confirmed by the Team Estonia website, where my name is clearly listed among the coaches," the post states.
What confuses Tõnis Sildaru the most is the question: who is ultimately the coach? Why does he fit this category at one moment, but not at another when selecting the best at the end of the year?
"To protect Henry and myself from these ongoing and humiliating accusations, I have decided to return the EOC prize and refuse the monthly support of an A-category COACH," Tõnis Sildaru announced. "This is my principled step. I do not want to be part of a system where achievements are secondary. I do this in the hope that one day Estonian sports will be governed honestly, transparently, and with genuine respect for those who truly work on the slope and in the field."
