Margus Hunt

BIOGRAPHY

Margus Hunt was born on July 14th, 1987 in Karksi-Nuia, Estonia. He is a defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL.

Hunt grew up in the small town Karksi-Nuia in Estonia. After trying decathlon he decided to concentrate on the throwing events – discus, shot and hammer throw. Hunt started training with Aleksander Tammert, an Olympic bronze medalist in discus throw from the 2004 Summer Olympics. Hunt competed in hammer throw at the 2003 World Youth Championships and discus at the 2004 World Junior Championships, placing eighth and sixth respectively.

In 2005, he won his first title at the European Junior Championships in Kaunas, throwing 62.19 metres (Championship record) with the 1.75 kg discus. In 2006, at the World Junior Championships in Beijing Hunt established a new world junior record of 66.35 metres in his first throw on the qualifying round. At the final competition Hunt improved his own world junior record to 66.68 m in the fourth round and then 67.32 m in the sixth and final round.

Three days later he won the gold medal in the shot put by 20.53 metres in the final, beating the closest competitor by 39 centimetres. Hunt became the first athlete to win the gold medal both in shot and discus at the World Junior Championships. His winning distance of 20.53 m was a national junior record with the 6 kg shot. His personal best hammer throw result is 64.89 made on March 28, 2008 in Arlington, Texas. His personal best shot put result is 17.98 made on March 22, 2008 in Waco. His personal best with the senior 2 kg discus is 61.33 meters made on July 6, 2010 in Viljandi.

 

In 2007, Hunt left Estonia to train at Southern Methodist University for track & field. Hunt ended up trying out for football to earn himself an athletic scholarship. He would earn a scholarship to the school and finished his career at the school with 122 tackles, 28 of those tackles being for lost. Hunt also added 16.5 sacks, and an interception.

On April 26, 2013, the Cincinnati Bengals selected Hunt in the second round, 53rd pick overall, of the 2013 NFL Draft. Hunt totaled seven tackles and one sack in 12 games in 2014.

On March 13, 2017, Hunt signed a two-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts. In his first season with the Colts, Hunt totaled 29 tackles and a sack.

On October 19, 2020, Hunt signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.