Latvia misses out on medals at Summer Olympics for second time since independence

PARIS - Latvia has been left without any medals at the Summer Olympics for the second time since the restoration of independence.

The first time since independence that Latvian athletes did not win medals at the Summer Olympics was in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the Latvian 3x3 men's basketball team won gold and weightlifter Arturs Plesnieks took the bronze.

At the Paris Olympics, the 3x3 players were also close to a medal, but after winning all their matches in the main tournament, they lost both the semi-finals and the bronze medal match. Cyclist Toms Skujins was the closest to a medal at these Olympics, finishing fifth in the group race.

The most productive Summer Olympics for Latvia was in 2004, when the country's athletes took home four silver medals from Athens. Latvia has a total of four gold medals at the Summer Olympics - two in BMX cycling, and one each in gymnastics and 3x3 basketball. Latvia has never had two champions in the same year at any Summer Olympics.

Estonia is also without a medal so far in Paris, and this is also the second time since independence (previously in 1996) that Estonia has missed out on medals at the Summer Olympics. Lithuania, on the other hand, has won two silver and two bronze medals in Paris and has never returned home from the Summer Olympics without a medal since independence.