Jānis Miņins (born 15 August 1980 in

Kuldīga Kuldīga () () is a town in the Courland region of Latvia, in the western part of the country. It is the center of Kuldīga Municipality with a population of approximately 13,500. Kuldīga was first mentioned in 1242. It joined the Hanseatic L ...

) is a

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 ...

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobs ...

der who has competed since 1999. He won a bronze medal in the four-man event at the

FIBT World Championships 2009 The FIBT World Championships 2009, officially known as the Bauhaus FIBT Bobsleigh & Skeleton World Championships, February 20 to March 1, 2009, at the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track in Lake Placid, New York, for the ninth time, doing so prev ...

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

, earning the country its first championship medal ever. In the 2004–05 season his best placing was a sixth place in the 4-man bob in

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

and

Winterberg Winterberg (; Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland. Geography Winterberg is located in the middle ...

, both times with Juris Latiss,

Ainārs Podnieks Ainārs Podnieks (born October 13, 1980) is a Latvian bobsledder who competed from 2003 to 2009. World junior champion in four man 2004 His best Bobsleigh World Cup finish was second in the four-man event at Lake Placid in December 2006. Pod ...

and Jānis Ozols. For the 2005–06 season he changed his team mates, retaining Ozols but bringing in Mārcis Rullis and Intars Dīcmanis to the four-man bob. However, his team fell to a best place of 10th, and he has had his best placing in the World Cup this season at the World Cup in Igls, with a fourth place together with

Daumants Dreiškens Daumants Dreiškens (born 28 March 1984) is a Latvian bobsledder, brakeman, who has competed since 2003. He won a gold medal in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships 2016 in Igls, Austria, with pilot Oskars Melbārdis, Arvis Vilkas ...

. He placed first at the Latvian selection event for the Olympic Games in

Sigulda Sigulda (; ; Polish Zygwold) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga. Overview Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish Devonian sandstone which forms steep r ...

, and has been selected to compete 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 ...

where he finished sixth in the two-man event and tenth in the four-man event. Miņins missed the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

, because of an

appendix Appendix (: appendices or appendixes) may refer to: __NOTOC__ In documents * Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication * Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works * Index (publis ...

surgery he went through, when he had already arrived in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

just days before the Olympic start. This prevented him from competing in the two-man event, but attempted to return to the four-man event before finally withdrawing to pain still experienced following his surgery and injuries to other crew members. He has also won 2008 FIBT European Championship in four-man event at Cesana. Miņins' best Bobsleigh World Cup championship finishes were second place in the four-man events in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

References

* * * * * * 1980 births Living people Bobsledders at the 2006 Winter Olympics Bobsledders at the 2010 Winter Olympics Latvian male bobsledders Olympic bobsledders for Latvia People from Kuldīga {{Latvia-bobsleigh-bio-stub