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Sinta Ozoliņa-Kovala

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Sinta Ozoliņa-Kovala
Sinta Ozoliņa-Kovala in 2012
Personal information
Born (1988-02-26) 26 February 1988 (age 37)
Riga, Latvian SSR
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight78 kg (172 lb)
Sport
Country Latvia
SportAthletics
EventJavelin
Updated on 11 August 2012

Sinta Ozoliņa-Kovala (born 26 February 1988) is a Latvian javelin thrower. She was the 2007 European Junior silver medalist. She competed for Latvia at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

Career

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Ozoliņa-Kovala was one of many Latvian javelin throwers coached by Valentīna Eiduka.[1] In 2006, she competed at the World Junior Championships, reached the final and finished in sixth place.[2] She won the silver medal at the 2007 European Junior Championships, finishing second only to Ukraine's Vira Rebryk.[3]

In 2008, Ozoliņa-Kovala made her first appearance at the Summer Olympics. During the javelin throw qualification, she set a new Latvian record in javelin throw – 60.13m. This result also gave her a spot in the final, as that result was the twelfth best on the night. Two days later, in the final, Ozoliņa's best throw was 53.38m and she finished in tenth place.[4]

She competed at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, but did not reach the final.[5]

She had a sixth place finish at the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, with a best throw of 58.34 metres.[6] Competing at the 2012 London Olympics, Ozoliņa-Kovala had her best throw in the second round of 58.86 meters. Ozoliņa-Kovala ranked 11th in her group and 20th in the overall standings of the qualification competition, which was not enough to qualify for the final.[7]

In 2013, Ozoliņa-Kovala won the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Challenge Series in Beijing. She won with a throw of 60.90 meters, 64 centimetres ahead of second-place finisher Maria Abakumova of Russia. In early May of that year she placed fourth at the previous Challenge Series competition in Tokyo with a throw of 59.25 metres.[8] She threw a personal best distance of 64.38 metres in Riga in 2013, 13 centimetres behind the Latvian record set by Madara Palameika.[9]

Competing in Zurich, Switzerland, she had an eleventh place finish at the 2014 European Athletics Championships with a best throw of 57.82 metres.[10]

She had a seventh place finish at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Beijing where she threw 62.20 metres.[11]

She competed at the 2016 European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands, but did not qualify for the final.[12] She competed at her third Olympic Games at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, but did not qualify for the final.[13]

Personal life

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She married Dainis Sprudzāns in Kuldīga in the week after she competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After the wedding, the athlete took her husband's surname.[14]

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Notes
2005 World Youth Championships Marrakesh, Morocco 25th (q) 39.34 m
2006 World Junior Championships Beijing, China 6th 56.38 m
2007 European Junior Championships Hengelo, Netherlands 2nd 57.01 m
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China 11th 53.38 m
2009 European U23 Championships Kaunas, Lithuania 9th 52.20 m
2010 European Championships Barcelona, Spain 13th (q) 56.11 m
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 18th (q) 58.15 m
2012 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 6th 59.34 m
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 20th (q) 58.86 m
2014 European Championships Zürich, Switzerland 11th 57.82 m
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 7th 62.20 m
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 14th (q) 57.58 m
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 14th (q) 60.92 m

Personal bests

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Event Mark Venue Year
Javelin 60.13 m Beijing, China 2008

References

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  1. ^ "Javelin thrower coach Valentina Eiduka dies". ll88.lv. 19 November 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  2. ^ "Beijing IAAF World Junior Championships". World Athletics. 15 August 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  3. ^ "European Junior Championships". World Athletics. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  4. ^ "The XXIX Olympic Games". World Athletics. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Barcelona European Championships". World Athletics. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  6. ^ "European Championships". World Athletics. 1 July 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Skaties interviju: šķēpmetēja Ozoliņa-Kovala pēc neiekļūšanas finālā". lsm.lv (in Latvian). 7 August 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Šķēpmetēja Ozoliņa-Kovala uzvar IAAF sērijas sacensībās". lsm.lv. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  9. ^ "OZOLIŅA-KOVALA ATTACKS THE LATVIAN RECORD, MEN THROW OVER 80 METERS". athletics.lv (in Latvian). 30 May 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Zürich European Championships". World Athletics. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  11. ^ "IAAF World Championships". World Athletics. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  12. ^ "European Championships". World Athletics. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  13. ^ "The XXXI Olympic Games". World Athletics. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  14. ^ Sergeyeva, Santa (Sep 20, 2016). "Javelin thrower Sinta Ozoliņa gets married". nra.lv. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
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Awards
Preceded by Latvian Rising Sportspersonality of the Year
2008
Succeeded by