Personal information | |
---|---|
Nationality | Latvian |
Born | Ilūkste, Latvia | 17 June 1967
Sport | |
Sport | Luge |
Agris Elerts (born 17 June 1967) is a Latvian luger. He competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 1994 Winter Olympics. [1]
At the 1991-92 Luge World Cup stop in Lake Placid, New York, Elerts won Latvia's first luge medal in 50 years. The win was so unexpected that there was no Latvian flag available for him to fly in celebration. Elerts' medal was considered significant as Latvia would participate in the 1992 Winter Olympics as its own country for the first time since Soviet annexation. Elerts had competed under both the Soviet and Latvian flags, but he preferred to compete under Latvia. [2] [3]
Georg Hackl, often named Hackl Schorsch, is a German former luger who was three time Olympic and World Champion. He is known affectionately as Hackl-Schorsch or as the Speeding Weißwurst, a reference to what he looks like in his white bodysuit coming down the luge at fast speeds.
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Albertville '92, was a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and around Albertville, France. Albertville won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 1986, beating Sofia, Falun, Lillehammer, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Anchorage, and Berchtesgaden. The 1992 Winter Olympics were the last winter games held in the same year as the Summer Olympics. The Games were the fifth Olympic Games held in France and the country's third Winter Olympics, after the 1924 Winter Games in Chamonix and the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble. This games was the first of two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Western Europe, preceding the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sarajevo '84, were a winter multi-sport event held between 8 and 19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. It was the first Winter Olympic Games held in a Slavic language-speaking country, as well as the only Winter Olympics held in a communist country before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. It was the second consecutive Olympic Games held in a communist country, after the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
India sent a delegation to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy from 10–26 February 2006. This was the nation's seventh appearance in a Winter Olympic Games. The Indian delegation consisted of four athletes, two in alpine skiing, one in cross-country skiing, and one in luge. Their best performance in any event was 25th by luger Shiva Keshavan in the men's singles.
Mārtiņš Rubenis is a retired Latvian luger who competed between 1998 and 2014. He won the bronze medal at the men's singles event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, becoming the first Latvian to win a medal at the Winter Olympics and the only one fr He won his second bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in the Team Relay event. In total he competed in five Olympics.
Luge at the 1968 Winter Olympics consisted of three events at Villard-de-Lans. The competition took place between 11 and 18 February 1968.
Gerda Weissensteiner OMRI is an Italian luger and bobsleigh pilot who competed from the late 1980s to 2006. Competing in six Winter Olympics, she won the gold medal in the women's singles luge event at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, and together with Jennifer Isacco she won the bronze in Turin in the two-woman bobsleigh at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She was the first Italian sportsperson to win Olympic medals in two disciplines.
Silke Kraushaar-Pielach is a German luger who competed from 1995 to 2008. In June 2008, she was named sports manager for the luge section of Bob- und Schlittenverband für Deutschland.
Luge is a winter sport featured at the Winter Olympic Games where a competitor or two-person team rides a flat sled while lying supine and feet first. The sport is usually contested on a specially designed ice track that allows gravity to increase the sled's speed. The winner normally completes the route with the fastest overall time. It was first contested at the 1964 Winter Olympics, with both men's and women's events and a doubles event. Doubles is technically considered an open event since 1994, but only men have competed in it. German lugers have dominated the competition, winning 87 medals of 153 possible.
Vera Zozulya is a Soviet luger who competed during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she won the gold medal in the women's singles event at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
Ingrīda Amantova is a Latvian-born Soviet luger who competed during the early 1980s. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the women's singles event at Lake Placid, New York, in 1980 and finished fourth in the same event at the following Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. This was the only instances Soviet or Latvian athletes won Olympic medals in women's luge.
Miroslav "Miro" Zajonc is a Slovak-born luger who competed for Czechoslovakia, Canada, and the United States. Competing for Canada, he won the gold medal in the men's singles event at the 1983 FIL World Luge Championships in Lake Placid, New York, in four record breaking runs. He represented the United States at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Aigars Kriķis, also known as Aygars Krikis, was a Latvian Soviet luger who competed during the late 1970s. He and Dainis Bremze won the gold medal at the men's doubles event at the 1978 FIL World Luge Championships in Imst, Austria.
Juris Šics is a former Latvian luger. He competed in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, and won a silver medal in the men's doubles event in 2010 and two bronze medals in 2014, alongside his teammate and younger brother Andris Šics. The Šics brothers' three medals mean they have won more Olympic medals than any other Latvian sportsperson.
Shiva Keshavan, is a six-time Olympian and the first Indian representative to compete in luge at the Winter Olympic Games. He set a new Asian speed record at 134.3 km/h (83.5 mph) after beating the previous record of 131.9 km/h (82.0 mph) and won a gold medal in the 2011 Asian Luge Cup at Nagano in Japan.
Nodar Kumaritashvili was a Georgian luge athlete who suffered a fatal crash during a training run for the 2010 Winter Olympics competition in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, on the day of the opening ceremony. He became the fourth athlete to die during preparations for a Winter Olympics, and the eighth athlete to die as a result of Olympic competition or during practice at their sport’s venue at an Olympic Games.
Luge at the 2014 Winter Olympics was held at the Sliding Center Sanki near Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. The four events were scheduled for 8–13 February 2014.
Latvia competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 34 competitors in 9 sports. They won one bronze medal in two-man bobsleigh and ranked 28th in the medal table.
Latvia competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, from 4 — 20 February 2022, gaining 1 medal.