Who is Kristjan Čeh's girlfriend? Discus throw champ competing in 2023 World Athletics Championship picked lover as coach
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY: Discus Throw King Kristjan Čeh, who won gold at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, is preparing for the upcoming games taking place from August 19 to 27 at the National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary. According to his Wikipedia biography, Olympic winner Gerd Kanter has been coaching the 6 ft 9 in (205.7 cms) Slovenian athlete, who is 24 years old now, since February 2022. Kristjan holds the title of defending world champion with a throw of 71.13 meters.
Off the field, Kristjan's life was extremely hectic as the player was reportedly involved in a drama involving his former coach and his girlfriend. The drama began after the Discus champ parted ways with his previous coach Gorazd Rajher right before the Tokyo Olympics 2020. When the athlete wanted to train with his girlfriend, whom several sources identified as Anna Maria Orel, as he thought it was more convenient, the former trainer objected, as per Sportslumo.
Who is Kristjan Čeh's girlfriend?
Anna Maria Orel is an Estonian track and field athlete who specializes in the Hammer Throw. She represented Estonia in the 2013 World Youth Championships, the 2014 World Junior Championships, and the 2015 European Junior Championships. She broke the Estonian junior record many times in 2015, culminating with 62.32 m. In 2016, she set two Estonian under-23 records with throws of 66.06 m and 66.44 m. Her personal best is 69.85 meters. Orel is coached by Jarmo Pöyry, a Finnish hammer coach.
According to reports, Kristjan claimed that Anna Maria is the perfect companion since she helps him stay healthy and improve his skill. They were pictured simultaneously enjoying the perfect weather and the sun's rays, as cited by Slovenskenovice.
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Kristjan Čeh's 'triangle' coaching drama
The 24-year-old had experienced a challenging year. Kristjan split up with his instructor Gorazd Rajher only a few weeks before the Tokyo Olympics. His girlfriend Anna Maria, who the coach said "distracted" him, was the reason he forbade the discus thrower from training with her. The World Athlete reportedly discussed the circumstance in Iltalehti, Finland, nearly a year after the split. "The coach and manager wanted to control me in every way. Of course I didn’t accept that. It’s easier and more convenient to train with Anna Maria than alone," Ceh told the outlet.
His girlfriend Anna Maria Orel suffered a great deal of backlash from Slovenian fans as a result of the viral story. "I have never been harassed and threatened like this in my life in the last few months. My rights as a person and as an athlete were taken away from me," she said on Instagram, as per News Breezer.
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Orel was reportedly asked to end her relationship with Ceh and was expelled from the training arena. "But obviously I haven’t. I’m an almost 25-year-old woman who can choose who I date," noted the Estonian. Iltalehti has now been informed by Kristjan that he is no longer in contact with his former coach in any way. "We have no form of relationship. Gorazd doesn’t even visit me anymore, so we didn’t talk," he said.