Today, President of Latvia Egils Levits and Mrs Andra Levite met with athletes who represented Latvia at the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games at the Riga Castle. During the meeting, Egils Levits presented Presidential Medal to luge riders Elīza Tīruma, Kristers Aparjods and doubles team Mārtiņš Bots and Roberts Plūme for the silver medal in the luge mixed team relay.
‘Olympic games is one of the peaks of athletic career. By winning the Olympic spot you have proved that you are capable of competing at a global level. These Games have been especially successful for our luge and wheelchair curling, and team sports,’ President of Latvia Egils Levits noted as he thanked Latvian Wheelchair Curling Team for showing its civic stance and refusing to face Russia in the competition.
Andra Levite thanked athletes for inspiring others to pursue their goals and being a role model for future athletes. Mrs Levite also praised the perseverance of Paralympic athletes. ‘You managed to return to the ‘big league’ and achieve major success after 16 hard years, which is remarkable,’ she said. First Lady also thanked Latvian experts who built the snow tracks for the Winter Olympic Games.
