On 17 March, President Edgars Rinkēvičs welcomed participants of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Riga Castle.
“Thank you to everyone – athletes, coaches, medical staff, support personnel, physiotherapists, organisers and the Latvian Olympic Committee – for a very successful Winter Olympics. I am very pleased that we have something to celebrate. Once again, my heartfelt congratulations to Elīna Ieva Bota on winning the silver medal and to Roberts Krūzbergs on winning the bronze medal,” said the President.
“You probably noticed that Raimonds Pauls wished for bronze, silver and gold. In my view, and I believe in the view of many others, that wish has come true. Unfortunately, in today’s world sport and sporting activities are often linked with one or another political development. We understand very well what happened during the Winter Olympic Games, where Ukrainian athletes were denied freedom of expression and were not permitted to remind the world about the war. In my view, that was completely unjustified. The fact that many of you used the opportunity to show solidarity – that is gold! In that sense, we can confidently say that this team has brought home all three medals,” the President emphasised.
President Edgars Rinkēvičs wished the athletes: “May all the goals you have set for yourselves come true. Our country and all of us can be proud of you, thank you, and wish you every success in the future.”
