Gymnast Jevgeņijs Saproņenko of Latvia has won the nation’s first medal of the Summer Olympics in Athens, earning a silver in the vault. His victory Aug. 23 was in part due to an error by Romanian gymnast Marian Dragulescu, who seemed almost sure to win the gold medal after a nearly perfect first vault.

Saproņenko, one of eight athletes competing in the final, recorded scores of 9.712 and 9.700 in his two vaults, for a combined total of 9.706.

The gold medal went to Gervasio Deferr of Spain, who scored 9.737. The bronze medal went to Marian Dragulescu of Romania, whose combined score was 9.612.

Dragulescu scored 9.900 on his first vault, but on his second vault stumbled off the mat for a score of 9.325.

Saproņenko told the Olympic News Service that he was more than happy with his performance, but acknowledged that the error by Dragulescu helped him win the silver medal.

“I feel lucky to have won the silver medal as Dragulescu had a bad landing in his second vault,” Saproņenko said. “His first one was amazing, simply unbelievable. At that point I figured I was definitely going to be third. But that would not matter either way, as my goal was to be in the top three!”

For a compilation of Latvia’s performance in the Summer Olympics, visit the special section of Latvians Online found here.

Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga is one of the world’s 100 most powerful women, according to the September issue of Forbes Magazine. Vīķe-Freiberga is ranked No. 70.

“On the surface,” according to the U.S.-based business magazine, “Vīķe-Freiberga appears to be an improbable choice to run this fledgling Latvian democracy.”

The segment on the Latvian president provides a short biography and notes that she has worked on improving Latvia’s economy as well as conditions for women and the nation’s Russian-speaking residents.

Topping the list of powerful women is Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. national security adviser to President George Bush.

The article was written by Elizabeth MacDonald and Chana R. Schoenberger.

The story of migration from Soviet-occupied Latvia, to Nazi-controlled Germany, to life in a Displaced Persons camp and finally to America is the subject of a new English-language biography by Connecticut-based writer Jane E. Cunningham.

The self-published title, The Rings of My Tree: A Latvian Woman’s Journey, was released this month.

The book, written in the first person but not autobiographical, is the story of 83-year-old Mirdza Vaselnieks Labrencis. Cunningham writes that she has known Labrencis for 45 years.

“After I heard her story,” Cunningham states in the introduction to book, “I could not write her journey in the third person singular. To write ‘she’ instead of ‘I’ removed me too much from her and the depth of her experiences.”

Cunningham spent 30 years working in the aerospace industry and has volunteered as an English-language tutor. This is her first book.

The Rings of My Tree was released through Florida-based Llumina Press.