2024-04-15 07:34:59
After two large and international competitions “Arkadijas Riga Indoor Cups” and “Katrinas Kausi” at the end of January, the Latvian indoor championships started in Valmiera with multi-events and walking. At the athletics arena of the Jānis Daliņa stadium in February, U18, juniors and later also adults distributed sets of medals, but in the end, U16 and U14 youth competed in the national championship at the newly opened Daugava athletics arena in Riga. In these championships, excluding the recently held Latvian winter championship in throwing disciplines, representatives of SS “Arkādija” dominated in terms of the number of victories.
The fact that the Arkadians earned the most gold medals is a surprise, because the track and field athletes of this sports school have always won high places, but this year the attention was drawn by the margin with which SS “Arkadija” is ahead of the other closest competitors.
Counting these five groups together – adults, U20 or juniors, U18, U16 and U14 – SS “Arkadija” track and field athletes have won more than thirty victories in this year’s indoor championships – 31 first places. The closest two followers – Ogre and Murjāņi Sports Gymnasium (MSG) – have three times less – 12 and 10, respectively.
Such a huge advantage in all groups together gives the Arkadians the status of leaders in almost all groups individually, that is, in terms of gold medals, SS “Arkadija” is the leader in four of these five groups. In the adult group, with six first places, the Arkadians have won half more than the next ones – Valmiera, Daugavpils, Lāča SS, who each have three such successes.
U20 has won nine gold medals, where the closest Arcadian rivals MSG have two less. In the U16 group, the strongest sports school has five golds, ahead of Preilis by one, but in the U14 group, similar to the adults, Arkadians with six gold medals are half ahead of the next followers Kuldīga and Līvāni, who have three medals of the highest category each. The only group where SS “Arkadija” is not in the leaders in terms of the first places is U18, because the performance of the Arkadians with five gold medals has been surpassed by one by the Ogres, who have six victories.
At least 20 track and field athletes have won gold individually in the ranks of SS “Arkadija”, and a few more have helped to win relay races. However, there are several Arcadians who have won several times to stand on the highest step of the podium. Paula Kļaviņa won the pole vault for both juniors and a week later in the adult group. Inese Bembere was the first in the adult group in the long jump, but the juniors confirmed their status as the best in the triple jump and high jump. Eliza Ehrenfried ran the fastest 800m and 2000m in the U14 group.
However, the richest Arkadians with gold medals, and also in general, from other sports schools, were Darja Kuzmina in the U14 group, showing the best results in 60m, 300m, long jump and with her teammates in the relay, and middle distance runner Kristers Kudlis, who crossed the finish line first in the U18 group 800m, 1500m and 3000m.
2024-04-15 07:34:59