Jānis Miņins (born 15 August 1980 in

Kuldīga Kuldīga () (german: Goldingen) is a town in the Courland region of Latvia, in the western part of the country. It is the center of Kuldīga Municipality with a population of approximately 13,500. Kuldīga was first mentioned in 1242. It joine ...

) 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 ...

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

der who has competed since 1999. He won a bronze medal in the four-man event at the

FIBT World Championships 2009 The FIBT World Championships 2009, officially known as the Bauhaus FIBT Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Championships, February 20 to March 1, 2009, at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Lake Placid, New York, for the ninth time, doing so prev ...

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh. ...

, earning the country its first championship medal ever. In the 2004–05 season his best placing was a sixth place in the 4-man bob in

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite river, in an alp ...

and

Winterberg Winterberg ( Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland. Geography Winterberg is located in the middle of ...

, both times with Juris Latiss, Ainārs Podnieks and

Jānis Ozols Jānis Ozols (born 1 November 1980 in Riga, Latvia) is a Latvian choral conductor, television personality, gastronomy blogger and former member of vocal group Cosmos. Currently the artistic director and conductor of youth choir "MASKA", as ...

. For the 2005–06 season he changed his team mates, retaining Ozols but bringing in Mārcis Rullis and

Intars Dīcmanis Intars Dīcmanis (born 22 September 1979) is a Latvian bobsledder. He competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) an ...

to the four-man bob. However, his team fell to a best place of 10th, and he has had his best placing in the World Cup this season at the World Cup in Igls, with a fourth place together with

Daumants Dreiškens Daumants Dreiškens (born 28 March 1984) is a Latvian bobsledder, brakeman, who has competed since 2003. He won a gold medal in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships 2016 in Igls, Austria with pilot Oskars Melbārdis, Arvis Vilka ...

. He placed first at the Latvian selection event for the Olympic Games in

Sigulda Sigulda (; german: Segewold, pl, Zygwold, russian: Сигулда) 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 Dev ...

, and has been selected to compete at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

where he finished sixth in the two-man event and tenth in the four-man event. Miņins missed 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 ...

, because of an

appendix Appendix, or its plural form appendices, may refer to: __NOTOC__ In documents * Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication * Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works * Index (pub ...

surgery he went through, when he had already arrived in

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 ...

just days before the Olympic start. This prevented him from competing in the two-man event, but attempted to return to the four-man event before finally withdrawing to pain still experienced following his surgery and injuries to other crew members. He has also won 2008 FIBT European Championship in four-man event at

Cesana Cesana Torinese (French ''Césanne'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, on the border with France. Cesana is a popular winter ski resort, being connected ...

. Miņins' best

Bobsleigh World Cup The Bobsleigh World Cup is an annual bobsleigh competitions. It has taken place since the 1984 Winter Olympics. Below is a lists of season champions. Each table shows the country and driver only. Combined men's Debuted: 1985. Medal table Two- ...

championship finishes were second place in the four-man events in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

References

* * * * * * 1980 births Living people Bobsledders at the 2006 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 2010 Winter Olympics Latvian male bobsledders Olympic bobsledders for Latvia People from Kuldīga {{Latvia-bobsleigh-bio-stub