Haralds Silovs (born 7 April 1986) is a
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 ...
n
long track and former
short track speed skater
Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as a ...
, who became the 2008 and 2011 European champion in short track. He has participated in three
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
. In 2018, he finished fourth at
speed skating 1500 metres event.
During the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
in
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, he gained worldwide media attention after competing in the 1500 m
short track, and 5000 m
long track speed skating events in the same day, 13 February. He is the first athlete in the history of the
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
to compete in both short track and long track events at the same Games and the only athlete to compete in two different disciplines on the same day.
Biography
Silovs was born in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
,
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 ...
, on 7 April 1986. His mother, Signe, was a figure skater, his father, Edvins, was a track cyclist for the USSR, and his older brother was involved in athletics. In addition to speed skating, Silovs became involved in mountain biking, and in 2001 at age 15, he won the Latvian Junior Championship in that sport.
He first became interested in speed skating in 1996, but interest in the sport across Latvia was relatively low, and there were few training or competition opportunities. Both Silovs and his brother were invited in 2001 to a training camp in
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, where they were given instruction in speed skating by Hungarian coaches. By 2003, he was competing successfully in regional events across eastern Europe, and he trained with several Belgian and French athletes over the next few years. In 2006, he began working with a personal coach, Jeroen Otter, from the Netherlands. While he continued to train in speed skating, he also began attending
Ventspils University College.
In 2007, Silovs had his first major success at the World Cup level of competition, winning a bronze medal in a 1000 m race and placing fifth in two World Championship events. The following year, in 2008, he won the gold medal at the European Championship in short track when the competition was held in his home territory, in
Ventspils, Latvia. On his road to the title won both the 1500 and 3000 m distances in the competition.
In 2009, he attempted to defend the title but instead won the silver, losing to four-time champion
Nicola Rodigari
Nicola Rodigari (born November 7, 1981) is an Italian short track speed skater who competed in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.
He was born in Tirano
Tirano ( lmo, Tiràn, german: Thiran) is a town in Valtel ...
of Italy.
Silovs holds several national records in both disciplines. For example, in August 2008, he reached new Latvian records of 37.05 (500 m) and 3:45.13 (3000 m), followed in February 2009 by 6:17.14 (5000 m). These national records were all set in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
and
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
.
2010 Olympics
At the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
, he became the first athlete in Olympic history to participate in both
short track (1500 m) and
long track (5000 m) speed skating and the first to compete in two different disciplines on the same day.
[ ] Only one other athlete in recent memory had attempted to compete in both sports at the same Games, American
Shani Davis
Shani Earl Davis (; born August 13, 1982) is an American former speed skater.
At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Davis became the first African American athlete to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Olympic Winter Games, w ...
, but Davis did not make his country's short track team. However, with no other Latvian athletes participating in the 2010 Olympic speed skating competitions, Silovs was able to make both teams for his country. It was his first Olympic Games, and he hoped that being able to compete in multiple events would allow him to acclimate to the level of competition in the Olympics more readily. He also hoped that differences in the two disciplines, between long track which is more demanding of aerobic fitness, and short track, which is more tactically and technically demanding, would mean that he would not be too physically exhausted to be competitive in both events.
On 13 February 2010, after competing in the long track event and placing 20th,
he skated a warm down lap and took a car across the city from Richmond to the Pacific Coliseum for the short track qualifying event. He qualified for the semifinal race but later failed to qualify for the medal round. In the classification round, he finished in 10th place.
Despite his disappointing finishes, Silovs expressed excitement about having the opportunity to compete at all and having set a record as the first person to compete in both speed skating disciplines. However, he admitted that competing in both events on the same day was "a little crazy."
He was encouraged by other speed skaters, like
Apolo Anton Ohno
Apolo Anton Ohno (; born May 22, 1982) is an American retired short track speed skating competitor and an eight-time medalist (two gold, two silver, four bronze) in the Winter Olympics. Ohno is the most decorated American at the Winter Olympics ...
, who recognized the feat.
On 17 February, he began his third Olympic career event, qualifying for the short track 1000 m event.
Silovs currently lives in
Inzell
Inzell is a municipality in the district of Traunstein in Bavaria, Germany. It is known for the Eisstadion Inzell, an outdoor artificial ice rink that has been used for many international speed skating championships. It is now an indoor oval.
Ge ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Silovs, Haralds
1986 births
Living people
Latvian male speed skaters
Latvian male short track speed skaters
Olympic speed skaters of Latvia
Olympic short track speed skaters of Latvia
Speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Speed skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Speed skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Speed skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics
Short track speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Sportspeople from Riga