Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Ventspils, LAT |
Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
Ventspils Olympic Centre: Latvia |
Name of coach |
Eduards Andruskevics, LAT |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
He took up the sport at age nine in Dobele, Latvia. |
General Interest |
Injuries |
He underwent shoulder surgery after the 2016 Olympic Games and did not compete again until the following year. He required a second shoulder operation in 2018 before returning to competition in September that year at the national championships in Dobele, Latvia. (ocventspils.lv, 04 Sep 2018; sportacentrs.com, 02 Sep 2018, 16 Aug 2018, 19 Oct 2017)
He suffered an abdominal injury in 2013. (sportacentrs.com, 25 Oct 2013) |
Hero / Idol |
US swimmer Michael Phelps. (Athlete, 17 Aug 2020) |
Further Personal Information |
Languages |
English, Latvian, Russian |
Family |
Wife Beatrise Plesniece, son Valdis |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
His father encouraged him to become stronger. |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Spending time with his family. (Athlete, 17 Aug 2020) |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning gold in the 105kg category at the 2016 European Championships in Forde, Norway, and claiming bronze in the same category at the 2015 World Championships in Houston, TX, United States of America. (Athlete, 17 Aug 2020) |
Most influential person in career |
Coach Eduards Andruskevics, and his family. (Athlete, 17 Aug 2020) |
Ambitions |
To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Athlete, 17 Aug 2020) |
Awards and honours |
He was a nominee for the Best Athlete of Latvia award on three occasions, and has been named the Best Athlete of Ventspils, Latvia, on six occasions. (Athlete, 17 Aug 2020) |