Latvia’s Fastest Runners and Nordic Walkers Honoured at the “Jūrmala Sports Festival”

On Sunday, 25 September, the annual “Jūrmala Sports Festival” for running and Nordic walking professionals and enthusiasts of all generations took place on Majori Beach. The winners of the Sports Festival’s 10 km race were award-winning athlete Ilona Marhele and SK “Metroons” runner Jānis Girgensons, while Sergejs Bogdanovs and Māra Lākute proved convincingly the fastest in the 21 km distance at the fourth stage of the Nordic Walking Championship, the “Zemgale Cup”.

Latvia’s most active Nordic walkers lined up at the starting line at 10:00, and just over two hours later the first leaders were greeted at the finish. This year, the fastest women in the 21 km distance were Māra Lākute, with a time of 2 h 25 min 15 sec, followed by Vivita Runģe (2:31:49), while Liene Beihmane-Veitmane (2:32:41) took third place. In the men’s category, Sergejs Bogdanovs (2:18:52) claimed victory, Nauris Rūdulis took second place with a time of 2 h 20 min 11 sec, and Agris Puriņš (2:23:39) secured the honourable third place. Jurijs Misjuns won the men’s 10 km Nordic walking distance, while Ingūna Sevostjanova was the fastest in the women’s category. 

In the second half of the day, at 14:00, the 5 km and 10 km running races also began. They were officially opened by one of the event’s special guests, European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen: “It is a great honour for me to be here today, in hospitable Jūrmala, and to start the running races. This is a wonderful event, and it is especially pleasing that the city’s Health Month is being launched with such important activities as running and, of course, Nordic walking. I would like to thank the Jūrmala City Council for its work and contribution to the development of sport. I wish the runners good luck—run as fast as you can, but remember that the most important thing is always to participate, not to win.”

This year, the leader of the men’s 10 km race was Jānis Girgensons (29 min 27 sec), followed by Dmitrijs Serjorins (30 min 18 sec) and Reinis Hartmanis (30 min 44 sec). In the women’s category, Ilona Marhele secured a convincing victory with a time of 36 min 15 sec, while Vera Djakova (38 min 17 sec) and Līga Girgensone (39 min 13 sec) took second and third place, respectively. 

 SK “Metroons” runner and winner of the “Jūrmala Sports Festival” 10 km race, Jānis Girgensons: “I ran this distance on sand two years ago, so I had experience running on this type of surface, but I did not know how things would go today until the very end of the race. I missed a few training sessions during the week and came to the competition thinking, ‘Whatever happens, happens,’ but it turned out better than expected. Considering today’s date, the weather was simply wonderful. I had even prepared for rain, but the sunshine brightened the entire distance, and I was able to warm up properly while running.”

As usual, one of the best-represented distances at the Sports Festival was the 5 km people’s race. This year, Dmitrijs Jurkevičš was the fastest, recording the impressive time of 14 min 27 sec and beating last year’s winner’s result by almost two minutes. Last year’s winner of the 10 km distance, Jānis Višķers, competed in two distances this year, taking second place in the 5 km race (14 min 34 sec) and third place in the 10 km Nordic walking distance. Kristaps Bērziņš (14 min 55 sec) completed the 5 km podium. In the women’s competition, Agnese Pastare was the fastest in the 5 km distance, finishing in 17 min 28 sec, followed by Guna Ģērmane (17 min 37 sec) and Gundega Heidingere (18 min 8 sec).

In total, six different distances were offered at the “Jūrmala Sports Festival” on Sunday: individual 5 km and 10 km runs, 5 km, 10 km and 21 km Nordic walking races, as well as a 0.5–1 km children’s race. From 10:00 onwards, visitors could also enjoy an extensive entertainment programme featuring sporting, creative and healthy activities throughout the day.

 The “Jūrmala Sports Festival” is organised by “Alpha Baltic Sport”, and the city of Jūrmala invites everyone to the event. Galleria Riga shopping centre supports an active and healthy lifestyle.