In professional sports there is no past and no future, only the present. More than one Latvian sports great and team of the previous years had to be convinced of this truth, which was often invoked by basketball coach Ainars Bagatskis, this season, because not all of them have managed to continue what they started successfully. The year 2024 has been colorful in Latvian sports, with a slight feeling of disappointment for being left without awards at the magnificent Olympic Games in Paris. At the same time, there has been no shortage of outstanding and even historic achievements in our sport. Newspaper Day the sports editorial team looks back at the bright and dark moments of our athletes this year.
CHAMPIONS. Kristaps Porzingis with Boston Celtics became the first Latvian to triumph in the men’s competition of the National Basketball Association (NBA), which is considered the strongest league in the world. Meanwhile, for the second year in a row, the Latvian athlete lifted the most prestigious trophy in hockey – the Stanley Cup. Uvis Jānis Balinskis did it in his debut season in the National Hockey League with Florida Panthers.
SENSATION. At the last minute, Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Kristians Fokerots, who qualified for the final tournament as reserves, became the European champions in beach volleyball in the Netherlands. It is significant that the 39-year-old Pļaviņš is the oldest ever, while the 19-year-old Fokerots is the youngest ever European champion in this sport.
DETACHED. Latvia’s leading road cyclist Toms Skujins fought until the last meters for both the Olympic award in Paris and the world championship medal in Zurich. Although the podium remained elusive, the places won at the foot of it in a sport with huge competition and great team importance are the highest since Roman Weinstein became world champion.
Read the whole article in newspapers Day in the issue of Friday, December 27! If you want to continue reading the newspaper in printed form, you can subscribe to it+