Baltic Olympics update: Aug. 18

Estonia

Ksenija Balta finishes 6th in women's long jump in Rio

TALLINN - Estonian athlete Ksenija Balta came in sixth in the women's long jump finals at the Rio Olympics on Wednesday with a jump of 6.79 metres, her season's best score.

Americans Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese took home gold and silver with 7.17 and 7.15 metres respectively. Bronze went to Serbia's Ivana Spanovic, who jumped 7.08 metres.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) noted on its website that Wednesday's high-quality competition marked the first time that 11 women had jumped 6.58 metres or more in an Olympic final. The last time 6.69 metres was sufficient for just eighth place was back in 1980.

Ministers praise Estonian athletes' performance in Rio

TALLINN - Estonia's Minister of Culture Indrek Saar and Interior Minister Hanno Pevkur at the government press briefing on Thursday congratulated Estonian athletes on their accomplishments at the Rio Olympics.

"An Olympic medal is something special; a small country like Estonia getting it gives reason to rejoice a lot, and this time we have a medal indeed," Saar said of the bronze earned by the Estonian men's quadruple sculls team in rowing.

Saar emphasised that the results in the varying events in Rio demonstrate that Estonia has a highly capable team at the Olympics this year. "That an Estonian athlete is among the top 10 in the world, we can see it in nearly 10 cases, and the games aren't over yet," the Social Democrat minister added.

Interior Minister Hanno Pevkur, member of the Executive Committee of the Estonian Olympic Committee, remarked at the same press event that he's very pleased with the achievements of Estonian athletes.

"Considering average placings, the ongoing games are one of the best Olympic Games for Estonia," the Reform Party minister highlighted.

Estonian athletes' rankings in the top 10 in Rio apart from the bronze won by the men's rowing team are Martin Kupper's fourth place and Gerd Kanter's fifth place in discus throw, the women's fencing team's fourth place in the epee team tournament, Heiki Nabi's fifth place in men's Greco-Roman wrestling in the up to 130 kilogram class, Ksenija Balta's sixth place in women's long jump, Mart Seim's seventh place in weightlifting in the +105 kg category, Nikolai Novosjolov's eighth place in men's individual epee, and Tanel Kangert's ninth place in men's road race in cycling.

Latvia

Sirmais fails to qualify for javelin throw finals at Rio Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO - Zigismunds Sirmais finished 14th and therefore did not qualify for javelin throw finals at the Rio Olympics on Wednesday, while Rolands Strobinders placed 28th.

Sirmais' best throw was 80.65 metres while Strobinders' was 77.73 metres.

Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad and Tobago) had the highest qualification score of 88.68 metres.

Sirmais earned the European title in the men's javelin with a new personal record of 86.66 metres at the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam in early July.

Lithuania

Lithuanian sprint canoe duo wins 4th medal in Rio

VILNIUS - Lithuania's canoe sprinters Aurimas Lankas and Edvinas Ramanauskas have taken home bronze in the K2-200-metre event in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games today.

The Lithuanian duo finished the distance in 32.382 seconds, earning Lithuania its fourth medal in these Games. The Baltic nation now has one silver and three bronze medals.

In the event, Saul Craviotto and Cristian Toro of Spain (32.075 s) won gold and silver went to London Olympics podium finishers Liam Heath and Jon Schofield (32.368 s) of the UK.