The 33-year-old Leesmann, who won the Estonian rapid draughts title the year before last, is now president of the EJTL, that is, the federation of our powerlifters. I had the pleasure of seeing Leesmann compete for the first time in the summer of 2002 at the Robocop Cup. On the veranda of the Albatros club in Pirita, the lifters competed in the absolute category, and Leesmann finished sixth. Attempts of 175, 185 and finally 195 kg. That left 15 kilos to winner Aivo Nurminen.
Since then, Leesmann has trained doggedly, set goals and bravely followed a path of Leesmann’s own.
What kind of man is this draughts player turned powerlifter, a champion in both sports?
Grew up in a nine-story block in Õismäe. Played sports here and there. Finished school there as well, in that city of white houses. Ended up in a draughts club in the same neighborhood, under coach Koit Tanner. The wins came. At school-age spartakiads from 1981 on, and later against the grown men.
Still holds the Dutch up as role models, above all their great man Wiersma. Appreciates the beauty of the game, and the glance out of the corner of the eye as a dozen or so bystanders gasp. Look how far that man got. To think it through and to play it out
Hard to say which is tougher: lifting, with nearly two hundred on the chest while lying on the bench, or a 6-8-hour day at the draughts board. Leesmann falls to thinking.
Says that both are quite tough in their own way. But one sport has helped the other. It has made Kaido an athlete.
Kaido Leesmann trains under Fred Antson. Yes, that Fred, the son of the very same winter Olympic champion speed skater Ants, the one with the peculiar gaze. Trains at Reval-Sport, where the strength athletes now have more room than before and, since last year, top-notch American machines too.
Among the better-known strength athletes working out alongside are the strongman and number-one police athlete Andrus Murumets, bodybuilder Andres Barabanov and, of course, four-time Estonian absolute bodybuilding champion Ott Kiivikas, among others.
A lot gets done at a workout. Not just mindlessly pulling iron. There they talk about muscles and women, supplements and body fat, the icy streets of the city and spring longing
On January 18, the men of our powerlifting federation gathered in Pirita. At the annual meeting they debated how to move forward. The conclusion: powerlifting is very much alive. The new grandmaster Köster, Nurmine, Silbaum, Leps, Zhdanov, Laiv, Mitt, precisely those for whom, like Kaido, one of the favorite events is the bench press.
We are not at the top of the world. Yet?!
There is room to grow, and, luckily, there is still time too.
A new federation president was elected: Kaido Leesmann.
Draughts player and powerlifter Leesmann founded the company Secure Class three years ago. Its line of business is security glass and the tinting of transparent surfaces for both vehicles and buildings, etc. Winter is calmer at work. That is why the boss can afford to travel, too. Along comes spouse Triin, who happens to be a draughts player as well.
For a man who values strength, with strong intellectual interests, and with music and the Bible as favorite reading, nothing is impossible. So Leesmann decided to dive into the secrets of international business management. These days, they say, you can’t get by with less. At the same time, Kaido sits on the board of the Tallinn Christian Free Church.
Strength truly serves a person only when one’s spirit remains alert
Author: Aare Kreilis
Come and work out! ArtGym
