Latvia at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Latvia at the
2016 Summer Olympics
IOC code LAT
NOC Latvian Olympic Committee
Website www.olimpiade.lv (in Latvian) (in English)
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors 33 in 12 sports
Flag bearer Māris Štrombergs (opening)[1]
Aleksejs Rumjancevs (closing)
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
 Russian Empire (1900–1912)
 Soviet Union (1952–1988)

Latvia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's seventh consecutive appearance at the Games in the post-Soviet era and eleventh overall in Summer Olympic history.

The Latvian Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Olympics since 2004, with 33 athletes, 20 men and 13 women, competing across 12 sports.[2][3] Latvia made its Olympic debut in women's tennis and women's weightlifting, as well as its return to sailing after 12 years. Athletics had the largest team by sport with only 14 competitors, nearly half of the nation's full roster size; along with sailing and tennis, there was also a single competitor each in modern pentathlon, shooting, and wrestling.

The Latvian roster featured two returning Olympic medalists from London, namely beach volleyball player Jānis Šmēdiņš and two-time defending BMX champion Maris Strombergs. Hunting for his third consecutive gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, Strombergs was selected to lead the Latvian delegation as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[1] Distance runner Jeļena Prokopčuka came out of retirement to run for the women's marathon at her fourth Games as the oldest (aged 40) and most experienced competitor, while windsurfer Ketija Birzule and weightlifter Rebeka Koha (women's 53 kg) entered their maiden Games as the youngest athletes (both 18) of the roster. Other notable Latvian athletes included heptathlete and 2015 world bronze medalist Laura Ikauniece-Admidiņa, reigning European javelin throw champion Zigismunds Sirmais, and world-ranked freestyle wrestler Anastasija Grigorjeva.

Latvia failed to win a single medal for the first time in Olympic history since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Koha, Ikauniece-Admidiņa, and sprint kayaker Aleksejs Rumjancevs produced the strongest results for the Latvians at these Games, finishing among the top five in their respective sporting events.[4][5]

Athletics

Latvian athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):[6][7]

Key
  • Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
  • Q = Qualified for the next round
  • q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
  • NR = National record
  • N/A = Round not applicable for the event
  • Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Men
Track & road events
Athlete Event Final
Result Rank
Valērijs Žolnerovičs Marathon DNS
Arnis Rumbenieks 50 km walk 4:08:28 37
Field events
Athlete Event Qualification Final
Distance Position Distance Position
Mareks Ārents Pole vault 5.45 =16 Did not advance
Pauls Pujāts 5.60 =10 q NM —
Zigismunds Sirmais Javelin throw 80.65 14 Did not advance
Rolands Štrobinders 77.73 28 Did not advance
Women
Track & road events
Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Gunta Latiševa-Čudare 400 m 53.08 7 Did not advance
Ariana Hilborn Marathon N/A 2:50:51 106
Ilona Marhele N/A 2:41:02 61
Jeļena Prokopčuka N/A 2:29:32 12
Agnese Pastare 20 km walk N/A 1:40:15 53
Field events
Athlete Event Qualification Final
Distance Position Distance Position
Sinta Ozoliņa-Kovala Javelin throw 60.92 14 Did not advance
Madara Palameika 63.03 8 Q 60.14 10
Combined events – Heptathlon
Athlete Event 100H HJ SP 200 m LJ JT 800 m Final Rank
Laura Ikauniece-Admidiņa Result 13.33 1.77 13.52 23.76 6.12 55.93 2:09.43 6617 4
Points 1075 941 762 1004 887 975 973

Canoeing

Sprint

Latvia has qualified a single boat in men's K-1 200 m for the Games at the 2016 European Qualification Regatta in Duisburg, Germany, either by winning his event or when the quota place for his event passed to the highest finisher not qualified[8][9] Meanwhile, an unused men's C-1 1000 m boat was awarded to the Latvian canoeing team, as a response to the "multiple positive cases" of doping on Belarus and Romania.

Athlete Event Heats Semifinals Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Dagnis Iļjins Men's C-1 200 m 44.125 5 Q 45.082 7 Did not advance
Men's C-1 1000 m 4:11.766 4 Q 4:20.181 6 FB 4:10.084 13
Aleksejs Rumjancevs Men's K-1 200 m 35.175 4 Q 34.722 4 FA 35.891 5

Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)

Cycling

Road

Latvian riders qualified for a maximum of two quota places in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of their top 15 final national ranking in the 2015 UCI Europe Tour.[10][11]

Athlete Event Time Rank
Aleksejs Saramotins Men's road race 6:30:05 46
Toms Skujiņš 6:30:05 55

BMX

Latvian riders qualified for two men's quota places in BMX at the Olympics, as a result of the nation's sixth-place finish in the UCI Olympic Ranking List of May 31, 2016. Two-time defending BMX champion Māris Štrombergs and London 2012 Olympian Edžus Treimanis were selected to the Latvian team.[12]

Athlete Event Seeding Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
Result Rank Points Rank Points Rank Result Rank
Māris Štrombergs Men's BMX 34.953 7 14 5 Did not advance
Edžus Treimanis DNF 15 5 Did not advance

Judo

Latvia has qualified two judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games. Remarkably going to his third Olympics, Jevgeņijs Borodavko was ranked among the top 22 eligible judokas for men in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016, while Artūrs Ņikiforenko at men's heavyweight (+100 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the European region, as the highest-ranked Latvian judoka outside of direct qualifying position.[13][14]

Athlete Event Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Repechage Final / BM
Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Rank
Jevgeņijs Borodavko Men's −100 kg Bye  Haga (JPN)
L 000–100		 Did not advance
Artūrs Ņikiforenko Men's +100 kg N/A  Kokauri (AZE)
L 000–111		 Did not advance

Modern pentathlon

Latvia has qualified one modern pentathlete for the men's event at the Games. Following the exclusion of the Russian athletes as a response to their previous doping cases, Ukrainian-born Ruslans Nakoņečnijs received a spare berth as the next highest-ranked eligible modern pentathlete, not yet qualified, in the UIPM World Rankings.[15]

Athlete Event Fencing
(épée one touch)		 Swimming
(200 m freestyle)		 Riding
(show jumping)		 Combined: shooting/running
(10 m air pistol)/(3200 m)		 Total points Final rank
RR BR Rank MP points Time Rank MP points Penalties Rank MP points Time Rank MP Points
Ruslans Nakoņečnijs Men's 13–22 2 30 180 2:03.83 16 329 28 26 272 11:35.70 21 605 1386 28

Sailing

Latvia has received a spare Olympic berth from the International Sailing Federation to send a windsurfer competing in the women's RS:X class to the Olympic regatta, signifying the nation's Olympic return to the sport for the first time since 2004.[16]

Women
Athlete Event Race Net points Final rank
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 M*
Ketija Birzule RS:X 24 24 DNF 21 24 26 DNF 25 23 18 21 23 EL 256 24

M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race

Shooting

Latvia has received an invitation from ISSF to send Dainis Upelnieks in the men's skeet to the Olympics, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was fulfilled by March 31, 2016.[17][18]

Athlete Event Qualification Semifinal Final
Points Rank Points Rank Points Rank
Dainis Upelnieks Men's skeet 119 14 Did not advance

Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)

Swimming

Latvia has received a Universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.[19][20][21]

Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Uvis Kalniņš Men's 200 m individual medley 2:02.34 24 Did not advance
Aļona Ribakova Women's 200 m breaststroke 2:30.82 27 Did not advance

Tennis

Latvia has entered one tennis player into the Olympic tournament. Jeļena Ostapenko (world no. 39) qualified directly for the women's singles, as one of the top 56 eligible players in the ATP and WTA World Rankings as of June 6, 2016.[22][23]

Athlete Event Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final / BM
Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Rank
Jeļena Ostapenko Women's singles  Stosur (AUS)
L 6–1, 3–6, 2–6		 Did not advance

Volleyball

Beach

Latvia men's beach volleyball team qualified directly for the Olympics by virtue of their nation's top 15 placement in the FIVB Olympic Rankings as of June 13, 2016. The place was awarded to the newly-formed duo of London 2012 bronze medalist Jānis Šmēdiņš and two-time Olympian Aleksandrs Samoilovs.[24][25]

Athlete Event Preliminary round Standing Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final / BM
Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Opposition
Score		 Rank
Aleksandrs Samoilovs
Jānis Šmēdiņš		 Men's Pool D
 Saxton – Schalk (CAN)
W 2 – 1 (21–17, 18–21, 15–13)
 Díaz – González (CUB)
L 1 – 2 (21–23, 21–19. 9–15)
 Oliveira – Solberg (BRA)
L 1 – 2 (16–21, 22–20, 7–15)		 4 Did not advance

Weightlifting

Latvia has qualified one male weightlifter for the Olympics by virtue of his top 15 individual finish, among those who had not secured any quota places through the World or European Championships, in the IWF World Rankings as of June 20, 2016. The place was awarded to London 2012 Olympian Artūrs Plēsnieks in the men's heavyweight division (105 kg).[26]

Meanwhile, an unused women's Olympic spot was added to the Latvian weightlifting team by IWF, as a response to the vacancy of women's quota places in the individual World Rankings and to the "multiple positive cases" of doping on several nations.[27]

Athlete Event Snatch Clean & Jerk Total Rank
Result Rank Result Rank
Artūrs Plēsnieks Men's −105 kg 181 8 218 9 399 8
Rebeka Koha Women's −53 kg 90 3 107 4 197 4

Wrestling

Latvia has qualified one wrestler for the women's freestyle 63 kg into the Olympic competition, as a result of her top six finish at the 2015 World Championships.[28][29]

Key:

  • VT – Victory by Fall.
  • PP – Decision by Points – the loser with technical points.
  • PO – Decision by Points – the loser without technical points.
  • ST – Technical superiority – the loser without technical points and a margin of victory of at least 8 (Greco-Roman) or 10 (freestyle) points.

Women's freestyle
Athlete Event Qualification Round of 16 Quarterfinal Semifinal Repechage 1 Repechage 2 Final / BM
Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Opposition
Result		 Rank
Anastasija Grigorjeva −63 kg Bye  Riabi (TUN)
W 4–0 ST		  Kawai (JPN)
L 1–3 PP		 Did not advance Bye  Michalik (POL)
L 1–3 PP		 Did not advance 7

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Latvijas karognesējs Rio olimpiskajās spēlēs būs Māris Štrombergs" [Māris Štrombergs will be Latvia's flag bearer at the Rio Olympics] (in Latvian). Delfi. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Ar 33 Latvijas sportistu līdzdalību tiek atklātas Riodežaneiro Olimpiskās spēles" [33 Latvian athletes participated at the Olympic opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "Latvia puts best feet forward in Rio". Latvian Public Media. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "Olympic Committee claims Rio performance satisfactory". Latvian Public Media. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Latvija pamet Rio tukšām rokām" [Latvia leaves Rio empty-handed] (in Latvian). Sputnik. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "IAAF Games of the XXX Olympiad – Rio 2016 Entry Standards" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Euro Olympic quotas secured". International Canoe Federation. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Smaiļotājs Rumjancevs saņem ceļazīmi uz Olimpiskajām spēlēm" [Canoeist Rumjancevs received a ticket to the Olympics] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "UCI announces men's road Olympic quotas". Cyclingnews.com. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "Riodežaneiro Olimpiskajās spēlēs grupas braucienā Latviju pārstāvēs divi riteņbraucēji" [Latvia will be represented by two cyclists in the road race at the rio Olympics] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Latvija BMX Olimpiskajā rangā paliek sestā un nopelna divas ceļazīmes uz Riodežaneiro" [Latvia remains sixth in the BMX Olympic Rankings; earns two tickets to Rio de Janeiro] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "IJF Officially Announces Qualified Athletes for Rio 2016 Olympic Games". International Judo Federation. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  14. ↑ "Oficiāli apstiprināta džudistu Borodavko un Ņikiforenko dalība Olimpiskajās spēlēs" [Judokas Borodavko and Ņikiforenko officially confirm their Olympic participation] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  15. ↑ "Diskvalificēti Krievijas modernās pieccīņas sportisti, startēs R.Nakoņečnijs" [With Russian athletes being disqualified, Ruslans Nakoņečnijs will officially compete in modern pentathlon] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  16. ↑ "Burātāja Birzule iegūst iespēju pārstāvēt Latviju Olimpiskajās spēlēs" [Sailor Birzule gets an opportunity to represent Latvia at the Olympics] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  17. ↑ "Latvijas olimpiešu pulkam pēdējā brīdī pievienojas stenda šāvējs Upelnieks" [Shooter Upelnieks joins the Latvian Olympic team at the last moment] (in Latvian). Delfi. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "Quota Places by Nation and Number". www.issf-sports.org/. ISSF. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "Swimming World Rankings". FINA. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "Rio 2016 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Rio 2016. FINA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  21. ↑ "Zināmi Latvijas Olimpiskās komandas "Rio 2016" dalībnieki peldēšanā" [Latvian Olympic swimmers named for Rio 2016] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  22. ↑ "ITF announces entries for Rio 2016 Olympics". International Tennis Federation. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  23. ↑ "Ostapenko nopelna ceļazīmi uz Riodežaneiro Olimpiskajām spēlēm" [Ostapenko earns ticket to Rio Olympics] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  24. ↑ "Men's Olympic Ranking teams confirmed". FIVB. 12 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  25. ↑ "Samoilovam un Šmēdiņam apstiprināta dalība Riodežaneiro" [Samoilovs and Šmēdiņš confirmed their participation in Rio de Janeiro] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 12 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  26. ↑ "Svarcēlājs Plēsnieks apstiprināts Riodežaneiro Olimpisko spēļu dalībnieku vidū" [Weightlifter Plēsnieks confirmed his Olympic participation in Rio de Janeiro] (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  27. ↑ "Second day of the IWF Executive Board meeting in Tbilisi". International Weightlifting Federation. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  28. ↑ "Wrestling for Rio 2016". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  29. ↑ "Latvijas labākā cīkstone Grigorjeva kvalificējas Riodežaneiro olimpiskajām spēlēm" [Latvia's best wrestler Anastasija Grigorjeva qualifies for Olympics in Rio de Janeiro] (in Latvian). Apollo.lv. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
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