From February 4 to March 6, in the LASE's 2nd-floor lobby is exhibited a "Photo Gallery of Academy Graduates - Outstanding Athletes," dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the LASE, featuring 24 individual and sports team portraits. The exhibition was created in cooperation with the Latvian Sports Veteran-Senior Association and the support of the Latvian Sports Museum.
LASE Gallery of Outstanding Alumni features: Greco-Roman style wrestler Edvīns Bietags, silver medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics; legendary javelin thrower Jānis Lūsis, who has won all three classes of Olympic medals - gold, silver and bronze; Igors Vihrovs, the first Olympic champion of independent Latvia, who won gold at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney; brothers Andris and Juris Šici, who belong to the modern luge sports elite, as well as Mārtiņš Rubenis.
Special attention deserve representatives of team sports - Riga ASK basketball team, which has won three European Championship Cups between 1958 and 1960, on the team played three triple and two one-time Olympic champions, among them LASE graduates Cēzars Ozers and Maigonis Valdmanis; in 1958 was established legendary TTT women's basketball team, which has 17 times won the European Club Champions Cup, becoming the most outstanding women's club team in the world, on the team played and two Olympic gold medals was awarded Academy graduate Uļjana Semjonova; also Riga volleyball club “Radiotehniķis” has three-times won European Club Champions Cup, on the team played four Olympians, including Staņislavs Lugailo. In 1968, the Riga Dinamo Hockey Club with Helmuts Balderis, a graduate of LASE, started to thrive, three of the team's this period hockey players have won Olympic medals.
The Academy expresses gratitude to Ivans Klementjevs, LASE graduate, President of the Latvian Sports Veteran-Senior Association, Olympic Canoeing Champion, for his initiative and support in creating the exhibition.
Information prepared by:
LSPA Public Relations and Communication Manager
Ilze Āķe-Vīksne, 29445209