Lelde Priedulēna (born 20 July 1993, in

Sigulda Sigulda (; ; Polish Zygwold) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga. Overview Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish Devonian sandstone which forms steep r ...

) is a

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

n former skeleton racer, and was the 2016 Junior World Champion in the sport. She participated at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

. Before starting skeleton racing, Priedulēna was a

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete, competing in the 60, 100, and 200 metre sprint events. Like other Latvian skeletoners, she is coached by sled-builder and former Latvian bobsleigh driver Dainis Dukurs, and rides a Dukurs-built sled. She began international competition in 2010 on the Europe Cup circuit, but recorded only five starts during two seasons before being elevated to the Intercontinental Cup and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

tours. In the summer of 2017, she tore a

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

during training, but elected to forgo surgery and continue training in preparation for the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

. In February 2019 Priedulēna announced end of her professional career due to the injuries.

Notable results

Priedulēna's first race in international competition was during the 2010–11 Europe Cup season at

Igls Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, but she did not record a finish because her sled flipped and went down the track without her. She finished a total of four races in two seasons on the Europe Cup, recording one fourteenth-place finish at

Königssee The Königssee () is a natural lake in the southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park. Description Situated within the Bercht ...

before being elevated to the Intercontinental Cup. Her first

race was at Altenberg in 2011–12, where she finished 22nd. She split her time between the ICC and the World Cup until 2016. On the World Cup, her best finish has been 4th, most recently in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

at Whistler. She finished the 2016–17 World Cup overall rankings in 7th place. Priedulēna competed in the Junior Worlds from 2012 until 2016, her last year of eligibility, in which she took gold. She represented Latvia at the

in Sochi, finishing 14th, and in the Senior World Championships from 2013 to 2017, finishing 7th at Königssee in

. In

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

her best finish was 6th, at Igls in

References

External links

* * 1993 births Skeleton racers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Skeleton racers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Living people Olympic skeleton racers for Latvia Latvian female skeleton racers Sportspeople from Sigulda 21st-century Latvian sportswomen {{skeleton-bio-stub