One of Latvia’s medal hopes for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics has already gone, even before the opening ceremony.
An injury sustained by Latvian bobsled pilot Renārs Grantiņš during a training run in Cortina will prevent him from participating in the Olympic Games, Latvian Olympic Committee (LOC) President Raimonds Lazdiņš told Latvian Television early Thursday morning.
After the two-man bobsled crashed during the very first training run on Wednesday, Grantiņš was taken to the hospital, where tests determined that he would require longer treatment for his injuries, so the 21-year-old pilot will not be able to compete in the Olympic Games.
Details of the injuries sustained have not been released, but the head of the Latvian Olympic delegation, Raitis Keselis, told the LETA newswire that Grantiņš did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
Latvia qualified for the Olympic bobsleigh competition with two crews in both the two-man and four-man competitions. The second bobsleigh pilot in the Latvian Olympic delegation is Jēkabs Kalenda.
The first competitive runs for the men’s bobsleigh duo are scheduled for February 16th.
Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor
Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor
Tell us about a mistake