Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the nation's tenth appearance at the Summer Olympics. The

Latvian Olympic Committee The Latvian Olympic Committee ( or LOK) is a non-profit organization that is the National Olympic Committee for Latvia. Its headquarters are in Riga. History The Committee was created on 23 April 1922. In 1923 it received a notice from Inter ...

sent a total of 46 athletes to the Games, 32 men and 14 women, to compete in 12 sports. Sixteen athletes had competed in Beijing, including silver medalist

Ainārs Kovals Ainārs Kovals (born 21 November 1981) is a Latvian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains m ...

in the men's javelin throw, and defending Olympic champion

Māris Štrombergs Māris Štrombergs (born 10 March 1987) is a Latvian former professional BMX racer. In the 2008 Summer Olympics he became the first Olympic champion in BMX cycling. Earlier that year he won the 2008 UCI BMX World Championships. In 2012 he pro ...

in men's BMX cycling. Pistol shooter and Olympic gold medalist Afanasijs Kuzmins, the oldest of the team, at age 65, became the first Latvian athlete to compete in nine Olympic games (including three of his appearances under the Soviet Union), tying the record set by Austria's

Hubert Raudaschl Hubert Raudaschl (; born 26 August 1942 in Sankt Gilgen am Wolfgangsee) is an Austrian sailboat manufacturer and former Olympic athlete. He has participated in nine Olympic games between 1964 and 1996. Raudaschl has competed in the s ...

. Meanwhile,

Jeļena Rubļevska Jeļena Rubļevska (born 23 March 1976) is a Latvian modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country runni ...

, who won silver in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, became the first female modern pentathlete to compete at four Olympics, since the sport's introduction to women in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. Among the twelve sports played by the athletes, Latvia marked its Olympic debut in table tennis. Latvia left London with only one gold and one bronze medal. Māris Štrombergs, who managed to successfully defend his Olympic title in the men's BMX cycling, became the first Latvian athlete to win two Olympic gold medals in the post-Soviet era. Meanwhile,

Mārtiņš Pļaviņš Mārtiņš Pļaviņš (born 8 May 1985 in Riga) is a Latvian beach volleyball player. He teamed up with Aleksandrs Samoilovs in 2004. Pļaviņš and team mate Samoilovs represented Latvia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China after ...

, who became Latvia's flag bearer at the opening ceremony, and his partner

Jānis Šmēdiņš Jānis Šmēdiņš (born 31 July 1987) is a Latvian beach volleyball player. From 2008 to 2012 he played together with Mārtiņš Pļaviņš. They won bronze medal at European Championships 2010. Two years later they won bronze medal in 2012 Oly ...

won the nation's first-ever Olympic medal in men's beach volleyball.

Medalists

Athletics

Latvian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard): ;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 Dace Lina

;Men ;Track & road events ;Field events ;Combined events –

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

;Women ;Track & road events ;Field events ;Combined events –

Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

Canoeing

Sprint

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

Cycling

Road

BMX

Gymnastics

Artistic

;Men

Judo

Modern pentathlon

Shooting

;Men

Swimming

Latvian swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)): ;Men ;Women

Table tennis

Latvia has qualified the following players.

Volleyball

Beach

Weightlifting

Latvia has qualified the following athletes.

Wrestling

Latvia has qualified the following quota places. ;Key * - Victory by Fall. * - Decision by Points - the loser with technical points. * - Decision by Points - the loser without technical points. ;Men's freestyle ;Women's freestyle

References

External links

National Olympic committee of Latvia
{{commons category, Latvia at the 2012 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2012 Summer Olympics

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2012 in Latvian sport