Mārtiņš Pļaviņš provided another bright moment in the Latvian Sports Gold Fund, who together with Kristians Fokerotas, who is 20 years younger than himself, surprised the beach volleyball community and triumphed in the European championships over the weekend. The success gave an impetus to the opportunities of our athletes to return to the highest level tournaments in the men’s competition, where in recent seasons Latvians have rapidly lost the previously won high positions. “Maybe it’s a sign from above. I love to play, why stop?” 39-year-old Pļaviņš once again smothered the silent question about his last tournament with his characteristic broad smile. Los Angeles? It is clear that now is not the right time for him to think in terms of a whole Olympic cycle, which Fokerot can purposefully aim for. Mārtiņš remains faithful to his formula for success – to play as long as there is passion and opportunities to do so at a high level.
The competition system introduced in the previous Olympic cycle in the World or Pro tour was not favorable for Latvian men’s beach volleyball teams, which quickly fell out of the strongest tournaments and did not qualify for the Olympic games held this summer. In the decisive cut-off, the team of Pļaviņas and Fokerots was the closest to it, which won the internal selection, but the road to Paris in the fight for the only remaining ticket
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2024-08-20 18:14:32