Latvia first participated at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
in 1924. After the nation was occupied by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in 1940, Latvian athletes competed for the
Soviet Union at the Olympics
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) first participated at the Olympic Games in 1952, and competed at the Summer and Winter Games on 18 occasions subsequently. At six of its nine appearances at the Summer Olympic Games, the Soviet team ...
between 1952 and 1988. After the independence of Latvia and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the nation returned to the Olympic Games in 1992 and has competed at every Games since then.
Latvian athletes have won a total of 21 medals at the
Summer Olympic Games and 9 medals at the
Winter Olympic Games
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 ...
. They have won a remarkably high proportion of
silver medals, with 5
gold medals. These totals do not include medals won by Latvian athletes while competing for the Soviet Union.
The
National Olympic Committee for Latvia was first created in 1922. The current NOC is 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 ...
, which was recognized by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
in 1991.
Medal tables
Medals by Summer Games
Medals by Winter Games
Medals by summer sport
Medals by winter sport
Other
* Latvian sports shooter
Haralds Blaus won bronze in the 1912 Olympics as a member of the Russian Empire team.
List of medalists
Summer Olympics
Winter Olympics
List of gold medal winners
Notes
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 Gret ...
,
Haralds Silovs
Haralds Silovs (born 7 April 1986) is a Latvian long track and former short track speed skater, who became the 2008 and 2011 European champion in short track. He has participated in three Winter Olympics. In 2018, he finished fourth at speed ...
became the first athlete in Olympic history to participate in both
short track (1500m) and
long track (5000m) speed skating, and the first to compete in two different disciplines on the same day.
[ ][New York Times]
"Crosstown Ride to a Speedskating First"
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
, ''30 January 2010'' . Retrieved 18 February 2010.
See also
*
List of flag bearers for Latvia at the Olympics
*
:Olympic competitors for Latvia
*
Latvia at the Paralympics
References
External links
*
*
*
Video: Latvia's return to Olympic competition after lengthy Soviet occupation February 12, 2020. ''Atslēgas''.
Public Broadcasting of Latvia
Public Broadcasting of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas sabiedriskais medijs, lit=Latvian Public Media – LSM) is a publicly funded radio and television organization operated by both of Latvia's public broadcasters – Latvian Television and Radio Latvi ...
. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
{{National sports teams of Latvia