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.

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