Riga Gymnastics School is the first sports institution to prepare an Olympic gold medalist in independent Latvia. Igors Vihrovs is a gold medalist in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in free movement. At the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, Natalia Lashchonova won a gold medal in multi-team teams, but the last Olympic achievement of the Riga Gymnastics School student Yevgeny Sapronenko is in the 2004 silver medal jump in support of the Athens Games.
The building that houses the school for most of its existence, Miera 62 in Riga, was built in 1982. The name of the school at that time was the Riga City Specialized Olympic Reserve Gymnastics School for Children and Youth. From September 23, 1992, the school got its current name – Riga Gymnastics School.
Training classes in sports gymnastics take place in the building at 62 Miera Street, in specialized sports gyms. Artistic gymnastics classes are held in thirteen gymnasiums of Riga general education schools in Jugla, Ziepniekkalns, Mežciems and Purvciems.
The school employs 50 certified sports coaches. An average of 800 students train in sports and art gymnastics programs. More than 200 children participate in interest education sports programs. The school also implements an interest education program for children with autism spectrum disorders.
Over the years, the school has also developed its own traditions. Every year in May and December, the Riga Gymnastics School championship and the competition for young gymnasts “Come to exercise!” Since 1997, the school has been organizing international competitions in sports gymnastics “Tiger Cup”, where about 100 young sports gymnasts from different countries participate.
Riga Gymnastics School – a place where the joy, dreams and hopes of children’s movements grow into purposefulness, willpower and achievements. During its 60 years of operation, the Riga Gymnastics School has strengthened its goal of preparing high-class athletes in sports and artistic gymnastics, therefore the core of the Latvian national team is made up of the students of this school. In recent years, the most valuable achievements of the school’s athletes have been achieved by Edvīns Rodevičs, Ričards Plāte, Elīna Vihrova, Jeļizaveta Polstjanaja and Dmitrijs Mickevičs.
Resources used:
sports.riga.lv
