Empire State Building features Latvia

Andris Straumanis | 

The north side of the Empire State Building in New York City will be illuminated with the colors of Latvia’s flag the night of Aug. 7, according to the structure’s official website.

The tribute is part of the building management’s celebration of the 2012 London Olympics. Sharing the spotlights will be Colombia on the west side, Uzbekistan on the south and Ethiopia on the east.

The other two Baltic nations will be highlighted Aug. 10, with Lithuania’s flag colors viewable on the north side and Estonia’s on the south.

The building, which opened in 1931, is owned by investor Peter L. Malkin.

Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is in New York City. (Photo copyright 2007 by David Sim, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

American media stunned by U.S. loss to Latvia in beach volleyball

Andris Straumanis | 

Whatever else might happen to the Latvian team of Mārtiņš Pļaviņš and Jānis Šmēdiņš as they proceed into the semi-finals of beach volleyball competition in the 2012 Summer Olympics, it appears clear they have left an impression—especially on the Americans.

It was in California, after all, that the sport was born. And just like four years ago in Beijing, when Māris Strombergs took the gold in the all-American sport of BMX cycling, the small Baltic nation is making sports fans take notice in London.

Journalists working for American media seemed just as stunned as the American team of Jake Gibbs and Sean Rosenthal, who lost Aug. 6 to the Latvians two sets to one.

Yahoo! Sports blogger Greg Wyshynski offered a sobering fact for fans:

For only the second time in the event’s Olympic history, the U.S. men’s beach volleyball teams won’t win a medal in the tournament.

David Wharton, writing in the Los Angeles Times, found meaning in the slight turn in the weather during the match:

As night descended on center court at Horse Guards Parade, a gentle rain began to fall. In that moment, you could see it and feel it, the gloom that had settled over the American men in beach volleyball.

Michael C. Lewis, writing in the Salt Lake Tribune, started his story with an observation of Utah native Gibb:

Jake Gibb stood slump-shouldered and shell-shocked, staring blankly at the spot where the volleyball had just landed in the sand and ended his gold-medal dreams at the London Olympics.

For Gibb, the defeat was “most disappointing loss of my career,” according to a story posted on Team USA’s official website.

Over at NBC Olympics, Jon Ackerman summed up the “stunning end” for the American beach volleyball team and the meaning of these Olympics: “It’s a cruel place for a hot streak to come to an end.”

The Latvians now are guaranteed at least a fourth-place finish as they head into the Aug. 7 semi-finals, facing Brazil’s Alison Cerutti and Emanuel Rego.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

Volleyball pair undefeated as track and field kicks off

Viesturs Zariņš | 

Latvia’s beach volleyball pair of Martins Plavins and Janis Smedins beat Norway 2:0 (21:18 and 21:16) and remain undefeated to advance to the quarter finals. On Monday they will face the winner of Saturday’s match between Russia and the USA. Win or lose they are guaranteed at least an 8th place finish.

The second pair of Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Ruslans Sorokins face off in the round of 16 against 3rd ranked Germany on Saturday to see if they too can make it to the quarter finals. It will be a tall order but the two Latvian pairs have surprised at London.

Things got interesting in beach volleyball on Friday when the top-ranked USA pair who were gold medalists in Beijing and were ranked 2nd in London were upset and eliminated by the Italians.

So far Latvia’s beach volleyballers have gone the furthest as other Latvian athletes have failed to deliver although the games are only half-way through.

Sixty-five year old pistol-shooter Afanasijs Kuzmins, in his 9th Olympics this year, finished 17th in a field of 18. He won gold under the Soviets at Seoul in 1988 and a silver at Barcelona in 1992 as part of Latvia’s team. This time he did not qualify for the Games but was given the one wild card berth awarded to Latvia’s Olympic Committee.

Meanwhile athletics, or track and field as it is more commonly known, kicked off on Friday.

The heptathlon is a women’s track and field event and consists of seven disciplines: the 100m hurdles, the high jump, the shot put, the 200m, the long jump, the javelin and the 800m. It is a test of strength, endurance and speed. It was added to the Olympics for women in 1984 and replaced the five event pentathlon. Laura Ikauniece finished 15th after day one, while Aiga Gribuste was 23rd in a field of 38. Competition continues on Saturday.

Ikauniece was a surprise bronze winner at this year’s European championships after moving up from junior ranks. Latvian fans should take note of that as they continue to wait for one of their athletes to get to the podium. Most of the medal winners for Latvia in the Summer Games since independence was restored have been a surprise.

The Games are over, however, for Latvian athletes in gymnastics, judo, swimming, table tennis, the shot put and road cycling.