Vadims Vasiļevskis (born 5 January 1982) is a retired Latvian

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who competed 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 momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

. He won silver 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), ...

. His personal best throw of 90.73 m, set in 2007, is the Latvian record. In 2008, Vasiļevskis was awarded the Latvian

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 ...

for his achievements in athletics.

Career

He has been coached by Valentīna Eiduka. In his early career he finished eighth at the 2000 World Junior Championships and competed at the 2002 European Championships without reaching the final. Vasiļevskis was the Latvian

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

at the

. He was the biggest surprise among Latvia's medal winners in 2004 Olympics. Latvia had three competitors in javelin throw: Vasiļevskis,

Ēriks Rags Ēriks Rags (born 1 June 1975) is a Latvian javelin thrower. His personal best throw is 86.47 metres, achieved in July 2001 in London. He has competed at three Summer Olympics between 2000 and 2008. He was born in Ventspils Ventspils (; ger ...

and Voldemārs Lūsis, with Vasiļevskis being the youngest and the least known of the three. In Olympics, Vasiļevskis was the best of the three, throwing for 84.95 metres, two and a half meters further than his previous personal best and good enough to win a silver medal. After the Olympic silver he finished eighth at the 2004 World Athletics Final. After an unsuccessful 2005 World Championships where he did not reach the final round, he stood fourth in the 2006 European Championships, the 2006 World Athletics Final and the 2007 World Championships. He won a gold medal at the

2007 Summer Universiade The 2007 Summer Universiade officially known as the XXIV Summer Universiade and commonly known as Bangkok Universiade, was an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport for university athletes that took place from 8 to 18 August 2007 in Bangkok, ...

, and finished ninth at the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. He was the Latvian flag bearer at the 2008 Summer Olympics as well.

Seasons bests by year

*1999 – 63.82 *2000 – 73.07 *2001 – 73.25 *2002 – 81.92 *2003 – 77.81 *2004 – 84.95 *2005 – 81.30 *2006 – 90.43 *2007 – 90.73 *2008 – 86.65 *2009 – 90.71 *2010 – 84.08 *2011 – 88.22 *2012 – 86.50 *2013 – 82.79 *2014 – 76.42

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasilevskis, Vadims 1982 births Living people Latvian male javelin throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Latvia Olympic silver medalists for Latvia Athletes from Riga Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for Latvia Medalists at the 2007 Summer Universiade