Longtime ERR sports journalist Lembitu Kuuse dies at 66
Longtime ERR sports journalist and reporter Lembitu Kuuse died on Saturday evening following a serious illness.
Lembitu Kuuse began working for Eesti Televisioon during the early 1980s, and began working as a reporter in 1988. For the first five years, he worked as a correspondent in Tartu before joining the sports editorial team, of which he became an integral figure, in 1993.
Kuuse's expertise, which was always accompanied by brilliance, passion and warmth, characterized his sports broadcasts and reporting. He was a master of interviews, having interviewed hundreds of distinguished Estonian sports and public figures over the course of his career.
Among Kuuse's more notable live reports were lengthy broadcasts from the Tartu Marathon and the Tour de France. During the golden ages of Estonian cross-country skiing, the country's Olympic gold medals reached Estonian homes via his reporting — including Andrus Veerpalu's gold at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and three golds at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. Kuuse's commentary accompanied another three Olympic medals in rowing for Estonia, including what would become his final coverage of an Estonian medal — the bronze earned by the men's quadruple sculls team at the 2016 Rio Games.
The Estonian sports reporter's final television broadcast was coverage of the Biathlon World Cup Östersund; his final interview was with Estonian WRC driver Ott Tänak at his home in Viimsi.
Lembitu Kuuse was awarded with the Order of the White Star, 5th class in 2005. In 2012, he earned the Association of Estonian Broadcasters' annual Golden Microphone award for his longtime and memorable work as a sports commentator. Kuuse also earned an award from the Cultural Endowment of Estonia last year.
Editor: Editor: Aili Vahtla