A team of 60 Estonians are planning to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro this November, the daily Eesti Paevaleht reported. Inga Plado, who's coordinating the trek, said three trails, guides, porters and air tickets had already been reserved. "The trails are different and everyone can pick a route suitable to his or her physique," Plado said. An experienced Estonian climber will accompany each of the three groups. The team hopes to reach Mt. Kilimanjaro's 5,895 meter summit on Nov. 26.
The eighth international marathon for people with mental disabilities reached Vilnius on June 4. This year, the marathon began in the Polish city of Olstyn and continued through Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden. First begun in 1999, more than 100 mentally disabled people run 1,000 kilometers over a period of two weeks. Organized by the European Association of Special Social Groups, the event unites athletes from Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Ukraine.
Motorcyclist Valentino Rossi described last week's Italian Grand Prix as his "best race ever," after a difficult 23-lap battle with Ducati's Loris Capirossi. Rossi's victory came after he overtook Capirossi in the final stretch and crossed the finish line only half a second before his competitor. Honda's Nicky Hayden took third place.
The first organized Riga Grand Prix cycling competition was held June 3 - 4. Latvia's Aleksejs Saramontins of Rietumu banka/Riga took second place overall, finishing behind Russia's Sergejs Kolesnikovs, who is currently one of Europe's leading cyclists. "He was stronger," Saramontins told the Latvian daily Diena after the race. Belarusian Vasilijs Kirjienka took third place. Sixteen teams from across Europe participated in the international competition.
Latvian hockey fan Dainis Krievs has decided to auction the shoe he threw onto the ice during the Ice Hockey World Championship's controversial game between Latvia and Canada. The online auction company ebay.com has posted an offer for the "scandalous shoe" with a starting price of $2,000 dollars. So far, the item has drawn no bids. The match between Latvia and Canada was interrupted twice when angry Latvian fans threw objects onto the ice in protest the referee's decisions. Latvia lost the game 0 -11, and a court later ordered Krievs to pay a 50 lats (71 euros) fine for throwing his sneaker.
