Collaboration Between the Sports Museum and A. Le Coq Beer Museum Brings Unseen Sports Treasures to Light

Starting today, December 3, visitors can explore various items belonging to athletes in the lobby of the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum. These items have been gifted to A. Le Coq over the years as a token of gratitude for their support and are being displayed for the first time.

The exhibition at the Sports Museum features, for example, the match ball used in the opening game of A. Le Coq Arena in 2001 (a World Cup qualifier between Estonia and the Netherlands) with players’ autographs, the competition spikes worn by triple jumper Kaire Leibak when she placed 8th at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and tennis balls signed by Anett Kontaveit and Kaia Kanepi, used when they played against each other at the first WTA tennis tournament in Estonia in 2022. There are also many other items that once belonged to athletes.

According to Rait Männik, curator of the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum, the museum had a strong interest in the items gifted to A. Le Coq. “Each of these carries a piece of Estonian sports history, which is why we are truly delighted that the A. Le Coq Beer Museum entrusted them to our care. Our task is not only to organize a short-term exhibition but also to ensure the preservation of this valuable sports heritage for a long time after the display ends,” said Männik.

“A. Le Coq has long contributed to Estonian sports and the development of athletes, and over the years we have received many fascinating sports items as gifts. We felt these items should not remain on our shelves but deserve to be shared with the public. So, we reached out to our colleagues at the Sports Museum, and we are very pleased that they saw potential in our small collection and immediately found a way to present these items to visitors,” said Triinu Siilbek, manager and custodian of the A. Le Coq Beer Museum.

Museum visitors can view the items in the general area of the Sports Museum without a ticket during opening hours until the beginning of the new year.