On 24 January, President of Latvia Egils Levits received Latvian Olympic Team at the Riga Castle to select the flag bearers for Beijing Olympics. Women’s luge racer Elīza Tīruma and ice-hockey player Lauris Dārziņš will be carrying the national flag of Latvia during the opening ceremony of the XXIV Beijing Winter Olympic Games 2022. President of Latvia personally presented the national flag to its bearers today in a symbolic ceremony.
‘I know that your mind is buzzing with thoughts about what you still need to pack, the last workouts before you leave home, Latvia, and what Beijing will bring. So, I would like to ask you to take a little breather today and try to tap into all the positive energy and confidence coming your way. The whole Latvia is behind you! We will be with you in our thoughts throughout the Games. We will follow you performances and cheer for you even in the middle of the night,’ President Levits said as he welcomed flag bearers and National Olympic Team to the Riga Castle.
Disciplines from which both flag bearers come from are representative of Latvia’s winter sports traditions, said Egils Levits. ‘Ice-hockey is very popular among people, and it also has deep traditions, whereas luge racing is much more of a specialist sport, which thanks to high performances has recently become more popular with viewers,’ Egils Levits implied.
These will be the third Olympic Games for Elīza Tīruma and Lauris Dārziņš in their athletic career.
Latvian National Olympic Team for Beijing Games is currently represented by 57 athletes in 11 disciplines. 32 of them will compete in their individual disciplines together with a 25-men ice-hockey team, representing team Latvia at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Latvian athletes will compete for Olympic victory in one of the following 11 sports: biathlon, bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, short track speed skating, figure skating, speed skating, Nordic combined, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and ice-hockey. This year Latvia will also compete in Nordic combined team ranking.
All pandemic safety protocols were followed during the visit of the Latvian Olympic Team to the Riga Castle. All participants and media covering the event had been tested using the rapid antigen test (self-testing).