On the first day of the World Games, Artūrs Liskov from Italy was third in the giant slalom skateboard competition, winning Latvia’s first medal – bronze. In the second discipline, the special slalom, Latvian skateboarders started even more successfully, winning three medals, including the first gold. A successful day with exactly the same result with three and all medals for the skateboarders of the Latvian national team also happened in the final third discipline, hybrid salomm.
The final discipline began promisingly in the men’s competition, as Gustavs Gailītis and Jānis Kuzmins showed the first and third times in the hybrid slalom qualification. When Gustavs had dealt with the Czech Petra Matous in the quarter-finals, American Joe McLaren was waiting for him in the semi-finals. As a result, a very special semi-final was held, as two previous champions of the disciplines fought for a place in the final, with the Latvian prevailing over the American in both races.
Jānis, on the other hand, beat special slalom bronze medalist Tomas Dreiblat in the quarter-finals, and in the semi-finals he also faced the American athlete – giant slalom vice-champion Orion Lerman. The title holder from Olai once again beat one of the medalists, taking revenge on Artūrs Liskov’s abuser in the quarter-finals and applying for his first medal at these World Games. Thus, the two Latvians managed to beat the Americans in the semi-finals and ensured the Latvian final and our country’s double victory.
The only question left was whether Gailītis would win the second gold, or whether Kuzmins would win the honor for the first time these days in Italy. In both races, Kuzmins was faster and won the gold, thus getting the first medal in this competition. After the fall experienced on the first day and a serious crash and failure in the second discipline in the elimination round, Jānis still brilliantly managed to finish the World Games in figure skating. On the other hand, Gailītis earned his second medal with the second place, being the only one of our men who won more than one medal.
Sixth and seventh place respectively for Dreiblat and Liskov, who lost in the quarterfinals. The best performance in the last discipline was shown by Kristaps Mirchenko, who took 9th place among 60 participants, just a little bit short of the qualification and reaching the eighth of the quarter-finals.
In the women’s competition, where 27 participants competed, three Latvians overcame the qualification and entered the quarter-finals, showing 4th, 7th, and 8th times. Eliza Gailite, who was eighth, had too difficult a task, as she had to fight with the fastest qualifier Karolina Vojtova from the Czech Republic, giving way to the champion of the previous two disciplines. On the other hand, Andy Ruja, who reached the 4th time, beat another Czech woman, who was two tenths slower in the qualification.
However, Anna Gailīte provided a pleasant surprise, who was seventh in the qualification, but in the quarter-finals she beat the second time, titled and experienced American Linna Kramer. On the other hand, the day before in the special slalom, Anna was third in the qualification, but in the quarter-finals she lost to the athlete who showed a slower time.
In the semi-finals, the two Latvians lost to the stronger Czechs, ensuring a meeting in a small final for bronze. If both men were guaranteed a medal in the Latvian final, only the winner of the duel could earn it for the women, and Rūja became that, winning bronze and, like Gailītis, getting two medals. On the other hand, Anna Gailīte secured her best result with the 4th place. Sister Elīza Gailīte took 8th place, while Dominika Ozoliņa completed the top ten.
2024-09-17 02:54:39