Latvian Luge Team Finishes Fourth in Relay, Missing Olympic Podium
The Latvian luge team secured fourth place in the relay event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, just missing the podium by a narrow margin.
The Latvian national luge team, consisting of Elīna Ieva Bota, Kristers Aparjods, Mārtiņš Bots/Roberts Plūme, and Marta Robežniece/Kitija Bogdanova, finished fourth in the team relay event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. They were competing against strong teams from Germany, Austria, and Italy, with Latvia finishing only 0.228 seconds behind the medal positions, which were secured by Germany, Austria, and Italy respectively.
The competition was fierce with nine countries participating in the relay. The Latvian team narrowly edged out the fifth-placed USA team by just 0.027 seconds, showcasing the intense competition and close margins at this level of sport. The Germans dominated the event, with their relay team achieving the best time in all four phases of the relay, ultimately defeating the silver medalist Austrians by 0.542 seconds and the host nation Italians by 0.849 seconds. Latvia's performance, although falling short of a medal, was commendable given the elite competition.
In the relay, notable performances came from individual team members like Bota, who recorded the second-best time in her segment, while the Bots/Plūme duo finished with the fifth-best time. This result highlights the strength and potential of the Latvian team moving forward, despite the disappointment of not reaching the podium, signaling a possibility for future improvement in upcoming international competitions.