Valentīna Eiduka (born 12 March 1937) is a retired

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 ...

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

er. Currently she is the coach of several notable Latvian javelin throwers, including

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medalists

Vadims Vasiļevskis Vadims Vasiļevskis (born 5 January 1982) is a retired Latvian track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He won silver at the 2004 Summer Olympics. His personal best throw of 90.73 m, set in 2007, is the Latvian record. In 2008 ...

and

Ainārs Kovals Ainārs Kovals (born 21 November 1981) is a Latvian track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains m ...

. Her personal best throw is 52.97 metres, achieved in 1964. During her career she became an eight-time

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

champion in javelin throw. In 2006 and 2008 she was voted the

Latvian Coach of the year Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latv ...

. In 2008, she also received the fourth rank

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

. She has been coaching

medalists

and

, as well as the current junior world record holder

Zigismunds Sirmais Zigismunds Sirmais (born May 6, 1992 in Riga) is a Latvian javelin thrower. Sirmais achieved his best result of 86.66 while winning the 2016 European Athletics Championships. He previously threw the world junior record of 84.69 m on June 22, 2 ...

, Sinta Ozoliņa-Kovala, Inga Kožarenoka. Formerly she also coached Voldemārs Lūsis, the son of legendary

Jānis Lūsis Jānis Lūsis (19 May 1939 – 29 April 2020) was a Latvian track and field athlete who competed in javelin throw. Biography Lūsis trained at Daugava Voluntary Sports Society and later at Armed Forces sports society. He competed in four Sum ...

References

1937 births Living people Latvian female javelin throwers {{Latvia-athletics-bio-stub