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Vasilijevs received this award for the first time in his career, while Graudiņa was recognized as the best for the second year in a row.
Vasiljevs won a bronze medal at the European Championship last year, placed 13th overall at the Beijing Olympic Games and also took 13th place at the World Championship. On the other hand, in November, the figure skater won his first prize in the “Grand Prix” competition, winning silver, and ended 2022 with the title of Latvian champion.
Meanwhile, Graudiņa in a pair with Anastasia Samoilova won gold at the European Championship, two second places at the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) “Elite 16” tournaments in Mexico and France, third place at the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) European Nations Cup and ninth place at the World Championship. Also, in 2022, Graudiņa also won the title of champion in the first division of the US National Collegiate Sports Association (NCAA).
The sports team of the year award went to the Latvian men’s basketball team, which qualified for the World Cup for the first time, while the sports small team of the year award went to another basketball team – the Latvian 3×3 national basketball team.
Drift pilot Kristaps Bluš was recognized as the athlete of the year in technical sports, while swimmer Zane Embrekte received the Paralympic athlete of the year award. Meanwhile, Luka Banki, the head coach of the Latvian men’s basketball team, became the sports coach of the year.
