News

Latvia’s strongest firefighter-athletes, including three from Jelgava, have travelled to the United States to represent Latvia for the first time at the World Firefighter Sports Championships in Las Vegas.

The athletes include employees of the Zemgale Regional Administration: Ričards Jirgensons, firefighter-rescuer at the Jelgava Fire and Rescue Unit; Artūrs Rožkovs, Head of the Dobele Fire and Rescue Unit; Kristaps Ansons, Deputy Squad Commander at the Jelgava Fire and Rescue Unit; Ņikita Skorbenko, firefighter-rescuer (driver) at the Jelgava Fire and Rescue Unit; and Viktors Valainis, firefighter-rescuer (driver) at the Aizkraukle Fire and Rescue Unit.

The championship in Las Vegas will run until 24 October. The athletes are expected to compete in both individual and team events. The competition consists of five disciplines: climbing a tower while carrying a bundle of fire hoses, hoisting a rolled-up fire hose to the tower’s upper platform, striking a rail with a hammer to test strength, dragging a water-filled fire hose, and carrying a 90-kilogram dummy to the finish line.

According to the competition schedule, qualifying rounds will take place until 22 October, followed by the individual final on 23 October and the tandem and relay finals on 24 October.

You can follow our athletes’ progress and competition results on the official website: https://www.irunutah.com/worlds/?lang=lv.

This article has been translated from Latvian to English using the help of ChatGPT AI.