Name Mikhail Kaaleste | Role Olympic athlete | |
Mikhail Kaaleste (born Mikhail Stolyarov on 20 August 1931) is a Estonian sprint canoeist who competed in 1950s. He won a silver medal in the K-2 1000 m event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.
Kaaleste changed in last name in 1940 from Stoljar. Originally going into cross country skiing, he was changed to sprint canoeing from his coaches at Dynamo Sports Club. After winning a silver medal in Melbourne, Kaaleste won two bronze medals at the 1958 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Prague (K-2 1000 m, K-4 1000 m). He also won several medals in the Soviet Union in cross country skiing in the 1950s.
In 1964, he became coach for the Dynamo Leningrad biathlon and cross country skiing. Kaaleste's wife, Anna, finished ninth in the 10 km cross-country skiing event at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo.