Latvia at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Latvia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London from July 27 to August 12. It was Latvia’s tenth Summer Games. The Latvian Olympic Committee sent 46 athletes (32 men and 14 women) who competed in 12 sports. The opening ceremony flag bearer was Mārtiņš Pļaviņš, and the closing ceremony flag bearer was Ineta Radēviča.

Latvia finished with two medals: one gold and one bronze, ranking 49th. Māris Štrombergs won the gold in men’s BMX cycling, defending his Olympic title and becoming the first Latvian to win two Olympic gold medals in the post-Soviet era. Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and partner Jānis Šmēdiņš earned Latvia’s first-ever Olympic medal in men’s beach volleyball, a bronze.

Other notable facts: Afanasijs Kuzmins, at 65, was the oldest Latvian Olympian and became the first to compete in nine Olympic Games (counting appearances under the Soviet Union). Jeļena Rubļevska, who won silver in Athens, became the first female modern pentathlete to compete in four Olympics. Latvia also made its Olympic debut in table tennis in London.