The elections to the president position take place in a week and a half's time; Teigamägi's announcement was accompanied by criticism of current incumbent Urmas Sõõrumaa, though did not reference him by name.

Vice presidential elections take place at the same time.

Teigamägi said: "My interest is not in remaining in a back-up role in an organization which is led by a president who doesn't understand that, for the EOK to achieve its own goals, its focus needs to be on elite and high-performance sports, as well as on creating the platform needed for sportspeople to succeed."

"In a small state, we have no possibility to deal with everything to the same extent – I see one of the priorities for the EOK president should be supporting sports federations. In this way, we would have more elite athletes who are granted opportunities to succeed. The more top-level athletes we have, the easier it becomes to create sporting habits in young people and in amateur athletes," he continued.

Teigmägi said that he has been working alongside elite athletes and sports federations and that, combined with his role up to now as EOK vice president, has shown him choices being made today are not yielding results.

Teigamägi has served on the EOK executive committee for three terms in addition to being vice president until now.

Running alongside Teigamägi and Sõõrumaa for the top EOK job is former head of state Kersti Kaljulaid, who last week said that if she became EOK president, she would pick 2008 olympic gold medal-winning discus thrower Gerd Kanter and skier Tiit Pekk as her deputies.

Sõõrumaa and Teigamägi have yet to reveal their full platforms.

Twelve more vice presidential candidates remain including former olympic gold medal decathlete Erki Nool, current Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur, current Education Minister Kristina Kallas, Center Party leader and former Tallinn mayor Mihhail Kõlvart, and former finance minister and top yachtsman Tõnu Tõniste, as well as Pekk and Kanter. Sõõrumaa is also running for vice president as things stand.

The EOK elections are on October 11.

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