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In 2019, Estonian javelin thrower Magnus Kirt was among the very best in the world. He had set an Estonian record of 90.61 metres, won the overall Diamond League title and claimed a silver medal at the World Athletics Championships. Yet just a few years earlier, he had struggled to throw the javelin even 80 metres.
Reaching the top took years of hard work. As a youngster, Kirt tried several sports, and even after choosing to focus on the javelin, it took him years to establish himself among the world’s best. His dedication eventually paid off, but the most successful season of his career ended with an unexpected injury. Kirt had no intention of giving up his sporting career and began preparing for a comeback. That comeback also became the starting point for Steiv Silm’s documentary Magnus Kirt: The Comeback, which arrived in Estonian cinemas in early October.
But how did a young athlete from the small Estonian town of Tõrva become one of the world’s best javelin throwers?
Growing Up with Sports
Magnus Kirt was born on April 10, 1990, in Tõrva, Estonia. Sport was part of his life from an early age, largely thanks to his father, Peeter Kirt, who also served as head coach of Estonia’s national luge team. As a child, Magnus often accompanied his father to training sessions. He watched athletes prepare for competitions and had opportunities to try different sports himself. Basketball, football, skiing and athletics were all part of his childhood. Rather than specialising in one discipline from the beginning, he developed his athletic abilities across several sports.
He began athletics training in 1997 under Urmas Uhtjärv and later worked with Raimond Luts. However, the javelin did not immediately become his main event. He also showed considerable promise in the high jump, winning silver at the 2009 Estonian Championships with a jump of 2.10 metres. For a while, both disciplines looked like equally promising options for his future. Towards the end of secondary school, he faced a difficult decision: continue with the high jump or concentrate on the javelin? Several factors influenced his choice, but ultimately, he chose the javelin.
Choosing the Javelin Was Only the Beginning
After graduating from Tõrva Secondary School, Kirt began taking the javelin more seriously. He trained under Toomas Merila and later Risto Mätas, focusing on the technique, strength and coordination required for the event. Progress, however, was far from immediate. His best throw in 2009 was 72.97 metres. Over the following two seasons, his distances remained in a similar range, with season’s bests of 71.41 metres in 2010 and 70.07 metres in 2011. He also finished 18th at the 2011 European U23 Championships.
For a young athlete hoping to compete internationally, these were relatively modest results. Kirt was gaining experience, but he was still some way from producing the distances needed to challenge the world’s leading throwers. Things gradually began to improve in 2012, when he raised his personal best to 76.97 metres. A year later, he reached 79.82 metres. The 80-metre mark was now within reach, although progress remained slow. His best throw of 2014 was 79.70 metres. By the age of 24, Kirt had spent several years concentrating on the javelin, but a major international breakthrough had yet to come.
In March 2014, Kirt’s father Peeter passed away. He had played an important role in developing his son’s interest in sport, and his death marked a difficult period in Magnus’s personal life and athletic career. Despite everything, Kirt continued competing and preparing for the following season. In 2015, the results of his years of work finally began to show.
Step by Step Towards the World’s Best
The year 2015 brought the biggest improvement of Kirt’s career so far. After several seasons of falling short of the 80-metre mark, he suddenly produced a throw of 86.65 metres. That was almost seven metres beyond his previous personal best and immediately placed him among Europe’s leading javelin throwers.
At 25, Kirt was finally beginning to achieve the results he had worked towards for years. That summer, he competed at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing. He threw 78.84 metres in qualifying and finished 22nd, missing out on the final. Although he was not yet challenging for medals, qualifying for the World Championships was an important step forward.
In 2016, Kirt made his Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, finishing 23rd with a throw of 79.33 metres.
The following season brought further progress. At the 2017 World Championships in London, Kirt reached the final for the first time, finishing 11th with a throw of 80.48 metres.
His performances were becoming more consistent, but a medal at a major championship still eluded him. That would change the following summer.
2018: Estonian Records and a First Major Championship Medal
Kirt entered the 2018 season with a personal best of 86.65 metres. By the end of the summer, he had improved that mark by more than three metres.
In early June, he threw 88.45 metres at the Gustav Sule Memorial competition in Tartu, breaking the Estonian record previously held by Andrus Värnik. Just two days later, he improved the record again with a throw of 88.73 metres at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland.
His success continued in July, when he won the Diamond League meeting in Rabat, Morocco, with another Estonian record of 89.75 metres. He was now regularly competing for victories against the world’s best javelin throwers.
In August, Kirt travelled to Berlin for the European Athletics Championships. His throw of 85.96 metres earned him the bronze medal, the first major championship medal of his career.
Kirt finished the season as one of the world’s leading javelin throwers and was named Estonia’s Male Athlete of the Year. In his own assessment, however, there was still plenty of room for improvement. And he was right. The best season of his career was still to come.
2019: The Most Successful Season of His Career
Kirt began 2019 determined to build on the previous season and continue challenging the world’s best.
In June, he achieved something no Estonian javelin thrower had ever done before. At the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava, Czechia, he threw 90.34 metres, becoming the first Estonian to break the 90-metre barrier in the javelin. Just two days later, he improved the national record again, throwing 90.61 metres in Kuortane, Finland. The result put him at the top of the world season rankings and confirmed his status as one of the leading medal contenders for the upcoming World Championships.
By September, Kirt had established himself as one of the most consistent javelin throwers in the world. The days of throwing around 70 metres were long behind him, and he was now regularly producing distances capable of winning major international competitions.
The World Championships in Doha offered another opportunity to demonstrate his form. On October 6, Kirt competed in the men’s javelin final. His second attempt reached 86.21 metres, moving him into second place behind Grenada’s Anderson Peters. But on his fifth attempt, Kirt suffered a serious injury. His left shoulder dislocated during the throwing motion. Medical staff provided immediate assistance, and he was carried from the stadium on a stretcher. He was unable to continue competing.
Nevertheless, his second-round throw was enough to secure the World Championships silver medal, the biggest championship achievement of his career.
The Next Chapter of Magnus Kirt’s Story
Instead of celebrating his medal and preparing for the following season, Kirt faced surgery and a lengthy recovery. At 29, he had reached the peak of his athletic career. Now, so much depended on how well his injured shoulder would heal.
Kirt’s goal was clear: recover from the injury, return to competition and take part in the Tokyo Olympic Games. But how did his comeback unfold, and what challenges did the following years bring? These questions are explored in Steiv Silm’s documentary Magnus Kirt: The Comeback.
Filming began in 2020, as Kirt was preparing to return to competition after his injury. What was initially planned as a project lasting just a few months eventually developed into a production spanning several years. The resulting documentary follows Kirt both in training and away from the stadium, giving viewers a closer look at what happened after his injury at the 2019 World Championships and how it affected the rest of his career.
But the film is about more than injury and recovery. It also looks back at Kirt’s childhood in Tõrva, his development as an athlete and the people who have played important roles in his life. Some of the world’s leading javelin throwers also appear in the documentary, including Olympic champions Neeraj Chopra and Thomas Röhler.
In our interview with Steiv Silm, the director discusses the making of the film and what he hoped to convey through Magnus Kirt’s story.
Chanz has supported Magnus Kirt during his javelin career, and we are pleased to be one of the main sponsors of Magnus Kirt: The Comeback. The documentary offers a chance to see not only the defining moments of his sporting career, but also the experiences behind the results and medals.
Go to the movies and see Magnus Kirt’s story on the big screen!
Photo: Hendrik Osula
