# Latvia at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Latvia competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's seventh consecutive appearance at the Games in the post-Soviet era and eleventh overall in Summer Olympic history.
The Latvian Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Olympics since 2004, with 33 athletes, 20 men and 13 women, competing across 12 sports. Latvia made its Olympic debut in women's tennis and women's weightlifting, as well as its return to sailing after 12 years. Athletics had the largest team by sport with only 14 competitors, nearly half of the nation's full roster size; along with sailing and tennis, there was also a single competitor each in modern pentathlon, shooting, and wrestling.
The Latvian roster featured two returning Olympic medalists from London, namely beach volleyball player Jānis Šmēdiņš and two-time defending BMX champion Maris Strombergs. Hunting for his third consecutive gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, Strombergs was selected to lead the Latvian delegation as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony. Distance runner Jeļena Prokopčuka came out of retirement to run for the women's marathon at her fourth Games as the oldest (aged 40) and most experienced competitor, while windsurfer Ketija Birzule and weightlifter Rebeka Koha (women's 53 kg) entered their maiden Games as the youngest athletes (both 18) of the roster. Other notable Latvian athletes included heptathlete and 2015 world bronze medalist Laura Ikauniece-Admidiņa, reigning European javelin throw champion Zigismunds Sirmais, and world-ranked freestyle wrestler Anastasija Grigorjeva.
Latvia failed to win a single medal for the first time in Olympic history since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Koha, Ikauniece-Admidiņa, and sprint kayaker Aleksejs Rumjancevs produced the strongest results for the Latvians at these Games, finishing among the top five in their respective sporting events.

## Athletics

Latvian athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):

### Key

* Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
* Q = Qualified for the next round
* q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
* NR = National record
* N/A = Round not applicable for the event
* Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

### Men

| Athlete | Event | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank |
| Valērijs Žolnerovičs | Marathon | DNS | DNS |
| Arnis Rumbenieks | 50 km walk | 4:08:28 | 37 |

### Women

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Gunta Latiševa-Čudare | 400 m | 53.08 | 7 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Ariana Hilborn | Marathon | — | — | — | — | 2:50:51 | 106 |
| Ilona Marhele | Marathon | — | — | — | — | 2:41:02 | 61 |
| Jeļena Prokopčuka | Marathon | — | — | — | — | 2:29:32 | 12 |
| Agnese Pastare | 20 km walk | — | — | — | — | 1:40:15 | 53 |

### Field events

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Distance | Position | Distance | Position |
| Mareks Ārents | Men's pole vault | 5.45 | =16 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Pauls Pujāts | Men's pole vault | 5.60 | =10 q | NM | — |
| Zigismunds Sirmais | Men's javelin throw | 80.65 | 14 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Rolands Štrobinders | Men's javelin throw | 77.73 | 28 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Sinta Ozoliņa-Kovala | Women's javelin throw | 60.92 | 14 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Madara Palameika | Women's javelin throw | 63.03 | 8 Q | 60.14 | 10 |

### Combined events – Women's heptathlon

| Athlete | Event | 100H | HJ | SP | 200 m | LJ | JT | 800 m | Final | Rank |
| Laura Ikauniece-Admidiņa | Result | 13.33 | 1.77 | 13.52 | 23.76 | 6.12 | 55.93 | 2:09.43 | 6617 | 4 |
| Laura Ikauniece-Admidiņa | Points | 1075 | 941 | 762 | 1004 | 887 | 975 | 973 | 6617 | 4 |

## Canoeing
### Sprint

Latvia has qualified a single boat in men's K-1 200 m for the Games at the 2016 European Qualification Regatta in Duisburg, Germany, either by winning his event or when the quota place for his event passed to the highest finisher not qualified Meanwhile, an unused men's C-1 1000 m boat was awarded to the Latvian canoeing team, as a response to the "multiple positive cases" of doping on Belarus and Romania.
| Athlete | Event | Heats | Heats | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Dagnis Iļjins | Men's C-1 200 m | 44.125 | 5 Q | 45.082 | 7 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Dagnis Iļjins | Men's C-1 1000 m | 4:11.766 | 4 Q | 4:20.181 | 6 FB | 4:10.084 | 13 |
| Aleksejs Rumjancevs | Men's K-1 200 m | 35.175 | 4 Q | 34.722 | 4 FA | 35.891 | 5 |
Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)

## Cycling
### Road

Latvian riders qualified for a maximum of two quota places in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of their top 15 final national ranking in the 2015 UCI Europe Tour.
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank |
| Aleksejs Saramotins | Men's road race | 6:30:05 | 46 |
| Toms Skujiņš | Men's road race | 6:30:05 | 55 |

### BMX

Latvian riders qualified for two men's quota places in BMX at the Olympics, as a result of the nation's sixth-place finish in the UCI Olympic Ranking List of May 31, 2016. Two-time defending BMX champion Māris Štrombergs and London 2012 Olympian Edžus Treimanis were selected to the Latvian team.
| Athlete | Event | Seeding | Seeding | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Māris Štrombergs | Men's BMX | 34.953 | 7 | 14 | 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Edžus Treimanis | Men's BMX | DNF | DNF | 15 | 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Judo

Latvia has qualified two judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games. Remarkably going to his third Olympics, Jevgeņijs Borodavko was ranked among the top 22 eligible judokas for men in the IJF World Ranking List of May 30, 2016, while Artūrs Ņikiforenko at men's heavyweight (+100 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the European region, as the highest-ranked Latvian judoka outside of direct qualifying position.
| Athlete | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Repechage | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Jevgeņijs Borodavko | Men's −100 kg | Bye | Haga (JPN) L 000–100 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Artūrs Ņikiforenko | Men's +100 kg | — | Kokauri (AZE) L 000–111 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Modern pentathlon

Latvia has qualified one modern pentathlete for the men's event at the Games. Following the exclusion of the Russian athletes as a response to their previous doping cases, Ukrainian-born Ruslans Nakoņečnijs received a spare berth as the next highest-ranked eligible modern pentathlete, not yet qualified, in the UIPM World Rankings.
| Athlete | Event | Fencing (épée one touch) | Fencing (épée one touch) | Fencing (épée one touch) | Fencing (épée one touch) | Swimming (200 m freestyle) | Swimming (200 m freestyle) | Swimming (200 m freestyle) | Riding (show jumping) | Riding (show jumping) | Riding (show jumping) | Combined: shooting/running (10 m air pistol)/(3200 m) | Combined: shooting/running (10 m air pistol)/(3200 m) | Combined: shooting/running (10 m air pistol)/(3200 m) | Total points | Final rank |
| Athlete | Event | RR | BR | Rank | MP points | Time | Rank | MP points | Penalties | Rank | MP points | Time | Rank | MP Points | Total points | Final rank |
| Ruslans Nakoņečnijs | Men's | 13–22 | 2 | 30 | 180 | 2:03.83 | 16 | 329 | 28 | 26 | 272 | 11:35.70 | 21 | 605 | 1386 | 28 |

## Sailing

Latvia has received a spare Olympic berth from the International Sailing Federation to send a windsurfer competing in the women's RS:X class to the Olympic regatta, signifying the nation's Olympic return to the sport for the first time since 2004.
| Athlete | Event | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Race | Net points | Final rank |
| Athlete | Event | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | M* | Net points | Final rank |
| Ketija Birzule | Women's RS:X | 24 | 24 | DNF | 21 | 24 | 26 | DNF | 25 | 23 | 18 | 21 | 23 | EL | 256 | 24 |
M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race

## Shooting

Latvia has received an invitation from ISSF to send Dainis Upelnieks in the men's skeet to the Olympics, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was fulfilled by March 31, 2016.
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Qualification | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank |
| Dainis Upelnieks | Men's skeet | 119 | 14 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)

## Swimming

Latvia has received a Universality invitation from FINA to send two swimmers (one male and one female) to the Olympics.
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank |
| Uvis Kalniņš | Men's 200 m individual medley | 2:02.34 | 24 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Aļona Ribakova | Women's 200 m breaststroke | 2:30.82 | 27 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Tennis

Latvia has entered one tennis player into the Olympic tournament. Jeļena Ostapenko (world no. 39) qualified directly for the women's singles, as one of the top 56 eligible players in the ATP and WTA World Rankings as of June 6, 2016.
| Athlete | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank |
| Jeļena Ostapenko | Women's singles | Stosur (AUS) L 6–1, 3–6, 2–6 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Volleyball
### Beach

Latvia men's beach volleyball team qualified directly for the Olympics by virtue of their nation's top 15 placement in the FIVB Olympic Rankings as of June 13, 2016. The place was awarded to the newly-formed duo of London 2012 bronze medalist Jānis Šmēdiņš and two-time Olympian Aleksandrs Samoilovs.
| Athlete | Event | Preliminary round | Standing | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Score | Standing | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Opposition Score | Rank |
| Aleksandrs Samoilovs Jānis Šmēdiņš | Men's | Pool D Saxton – Schalk (CAN) W 2 – 1 (21–17, 18–21, 15–13) Díaz – González (CUB) L 1 – 2 (21–23, 21–19. 9–15) Oliveira – Solberg (BRA) L 1 – 2 (16–21, 22–20, 7–15) | 4 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Weightlifting

Latvia has qualified one male weightlifter for the Olympics by virtue of his top 15 individual finish, among those who had not secured any quota places through the World or European Championships, in the IWF World Rankings as of June 20, 2016. The place was awarded to London 2012 Olympian Artūrs Plēsnieks in the men's heavyweight division (105 kg).
Meanwhile, an unused women's Olympic spot was added to the Latvian weightlifting team by IWF, as a response to the vacancy of women's quota places in the individual World Rankings and to the "multiple positive cases" of doping on several nations.
| Athlete | Event | Snatch | Snatch | Clean & Jerk | Clean & Jerk | Total | Rank |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Total | Rank |
| Artūrs Plēsnieks | Men's −105 kg | 181 | 8 | 218 | 9 | 399 | 8 |
| Rebeka Koha | Women's −53 kg | 90 | 3 | 107 | 4 | 197 | 4 |

## Wrestling

Latvia has qualified one wrestler for the women's freestyle 63 kg into the Olympic competition, as a result of her top six finish at the 2015 World Championships.
Key:
* VT – Victory by Fall.
* PP – Decision by Points – the loser with technical points.
* PO – Decision by Points – the loser without technical points.
* ST – Technical superiority – the loser without technical points and a margin of victory of at least 8 (Greco-Roman) or 10 (freestyle) points.

### Women's freestyle

| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Round of 16 | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Repechage 1 | Repechage 2 | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Anastasija Grigorjeva | −63 kg | Bye | Riabi (TUN) W 4–0 $^{ST}$ | Kawai (JPN) L 1–3 $^{PP}$ | Did not advance | Bye | Michalik (POL) L 1–3 $^{PP}$ | Did not advance | 7 |