Baltics finish Olympics with three silvers

  • 2010-03-01
  • Oskars Magone

Latvia's Martins Dukurs (right) narrowly missed out on the gold in the men's skeleton event (photo: vancouver2010.com)

VANCOUVER - With the 2010 Olympic Games coming to a close in Vancouver, Canada, the final medal counts are in with Latvia securing two silver medals and Estonia one.

Kristina Smigun-Vahi from Estonia took home the first Baltic medal in the 10 kilometer women's freestyle cross-country ski event. Charlotte Kalla from Sweden won the event.

It was her third Olympic medal, having won two golds in Turin in 2006 in the 10 kilometer classic and 7.5+7.5 double pursuit events. She is coached by her father, Anatoli Smigun, who is also a prominent nordic skier in his own right.

The medal puts Estonia 24th in the overall count, tied with Kazakhstan.

The Latvian Olympic team won its two silvers at the Sliding Center in men's skeleton and men's luge double events. Latvia came in 23rd in the overall medal count.

Martins Dukurs came closest to gold, as he was leading the event and expected to win up until the final turn of the fourth and final heat of the race, in which he bumped the side of the track and thereby lost enough time for Canadian Jon Montgomeryto edge ahead.

Brothers Juris and Andris Sics closed out the medal count with a silver in the double luge, which they lost to another team of brothers from Austria, Andreas and Wolfgang Linger.

Lithuania, which sent just 6 athletes to the Games, was unable to take a medal.