Mārtiņš Rubenis (born 26 September 1978) is a retired

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 ...

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

r who competed between 1998 and 2014. He won the bronze medal at the men's singles event at the

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

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, becoming the first Latvian (i.e. representing Republic of Latvia, as opposed to the Soviet Union) to win a medal at the Winter Olympics and the only one fr He won his second bronze medal 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 ...

in Sochi in the Team Relay event. In total he competed in five Olympics. Rubenis has also won the gold medal at the 1998 World Junior Championships, as well as the silver and bronze medals at the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and 2004 World Championships respectively. He also won three medals in the Team Relay event at the

FIL European Luge Championships The FIL European Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place since 1914. From 1914 to 1934, these championships were part of the Internationaler Schlittensportsverband (ISSV - International Sled Sport Federa ...

with a golds in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

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, and a bronze in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. Rubenis retired after the 2014 Winter Olympics. He announced his retirement after the men's event, in which he finished 10th, yet a few days later Rubenis won a bronze medal being a part of the Latvian Relay Team. As a result, he and his team-mates in the relay squad were featured on a

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issued by

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. Following his retirement, he was appointed as coach of the Latvian national luge team, and additionally uses his skills as a mechanical engineer to design sleds for the team, having already made his own sleds whilst competing. He also became a member of the Latvian Olympic Committee, having previously served as an athlete representative to the

International Luge Federation The International Luge Federation (French language, French: ''Fédération Internationale de Luge'' (FIL); German language, German: ''Internationaler Rennrodelverband'') is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nat ...

. Rubenis is a musician and DJ and a member of the DJs group Värka Kru.

Awards

* 2011 – The Three – Star Order * 2014 – The Cross of Recognition

Achievements

* 1998 – 1st place in World Junior championship * 2000 – 11th place in World championship * 2000 – 18th place Overall World Cup * 2001 – 29th place in World championship * 2001 – 25th place Overall World Cup * 2002 – 15th place in European championship * 2002 – 34th place Overall World Cup * 2003 – 2nd place in World championship – team competition * 2003 – 2nd place in World championship * 2003 – 18th place Overall World Cup * 2004 – 3rd place in World championship * 2004 – 13th place Overall World Cup * 2004 – 12th place Overall Challenge Cup * 2005 – 11th place in World championship * 2005 – 11th place Overall World Cup * 2005 – 9th place Overall Challenge Cup * 2006 – 3rd place in European championship – team competition * 2006 – 7th place in European championship

Olympic Games results

* 1998 – Nagano 14th place * 2002 –

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

after crash – DNF * 2006 –

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

3rd place * 2010 –

Vancouver 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 cit ...

11th place * 2014 –

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 ...

10th place * 2014 –

3rd place Team Relay

References

*
FIL-Luge profile
* * * *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubenis, Martins 1978 births Living people Latvian male lugers 21st-century Latvian sportsmen Olympic lugers for Latvia Olympic medalists in luge Olympic bronze medalists for Latvia Lugers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Lugers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Lugers from Riga Recipients of the Cross of Recognition Latvian sports coaches Mechanical engineers Falun Gong practitioners