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 ...

competed at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics. 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 ...

sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since the breakup of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. A total of 32 athletes, 22 men and 10 women, competed only in 11 sports. Fourteen athletes had previously competed in Sydney, including silver medalist

Aigars Fadejevs Aigars Fadejevs (born December 27, 1975) is a former Latvian Athletics (sport), athlete, competing in 20 km, 50 km walk and marathon running, and a rehabilitologist for sprinters. Fadejevs competed in 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing 6th in ...

in men's race walk, defending Olympic champion Igors Vihrovs in men's floor exercises, and judoka and bronze medalist

Vsevolods Zeļonijs Vsevolods Zeļonijs (born February 24, 1973 in Riga) is a Latvian judoka, who competed in the 1992 and 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: '' ...

. Pistol shooter and former Olympic champion

Afanasijs Kuzmins Afanasijs Kuzmins (born 22 March 1947) is a Latvian shooter who won two Olympic medals in the 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol event; gold at the 1988 for the USSR and silver at the 1992 Summer Olympics for Latvia. He also won the 1986 World Championship ...

, the oldest of the team, at age 57, became the first Latvian athlete to compete in seven Olympic games (including three of his appearances under the Soviet Union). Meanwhile, javelin thrower and Latvia's top Olympic medal contender

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 ...

was appointed by the committee to become the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Latvia left Athens with a total of four Olympic silver medals, surpassing a single short of the overall tally from Sydney. Three of these medals were awarded to the athletes for the first time in men's javelin throw, modern pentathlon, and weightlifting. Gymnast

Jevgēņijs Saproņenko Jevgēņijs Saproņenko ( uk, Євгеній Сапроненко, born 11 November 1978) is a Latvian Ukrainian gymnast. His best discipline is vault where he has won silver medals in 1999 and 2001 World Championships and 2004 Summer Olympics ...

claimed another sporting medal for his team with a silver in the men's vault exercises, adding it to a prestigious gold from Igors Vihrovs in Sydney four years earlier.

Medalists

Athletics

Latvian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard). ;Key * Note – Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only * Q = Qualified for the next round * q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser ''or'', in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target * NR = National record * N/A = Round not applicable for the event * Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round ;Men ;Track & road events ;Field events ;Combined events –

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

;Women ;Track & road events ;Field events

Canoeing

Sprint

Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify to final; q = Qualify to semifinal

Cycling

Road

Gymnastics

Artistic

;Men

Judo

Modern pentathlon

Sailing

Latvian sailors have qualified one boat for each of the following events. ;Women

Shooting

;Men

Swimming

Latvian swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the A-standard time, and 1 at the B-standard time): ;Men ;Women

Weightlifting

One Latvian weightlifter qualified for the following events:

Wrestling

Latvia has qualified the following quota places. Key: * - Victory by Fall. * - Decision by Points - the loser with technical points. * - Decision by Points - the loser without technical points. ;Men's Greco-Roman

References

External links

Official Report of the XXVIII OlympiadLatvian Olympic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latvia At The 2004 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...