Haralds Silovs

Awards and honours	He was flag bearer for Latvia at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (OIS, 25 Feb 2018)
Hero / Idol	Slovakian cyclist Peter Sagan. (Athlete, 14 Nov 2019)

www.haraldssilovs.lv/

When and where did you begin this sport?

He began short track skating in 1996 in Riga, Latvia, and took up speed skating in 2009 in Calgary, AB, Canada.

Hobbies	Cycling, speciality coffee, reading, drawing, cooking, socialising. (Athlete, 16 Jan 2021)
Famous relatives	His mother Signe was a figure skater and his father Edvins represented the Soviet Union in track cycling. (haraldssilovs.com, 04 Feb 2014)
Memorable sporting achievement	Finishing fourth in the 1500m at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (Athlete, 17 Nov 2018)

Reason for choosing this sport

"My older brother Helmuts started and I followed his footsteps. Then it snowballed from there."

Nicknames	Harry, Harris (kiaspeedskatingacademy.com, 15 Jan 2012)
Most influential person in career	His brother Helmuts, his father Edvins, and Dutch short track coach Jeroen Otter. (Athlete, 14 Nov 2019, 17 Nov 2018)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Hard work will pay off. Persistence is key." (Athlete, 17 Nov 2018)
Other information	RETIREMENT He retired from competitive skating in mid-2022. (ISU, 22 Jul 2022) TRAINING He began training with the Norwegian national speed skating team during his preparation for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. In the lead-up to the 2020/21 season, he decided to end the arrangement and moved to train in Inzell, Germany, where he also prepared for the 2021/22 season with the Swiss national team. "Norway doesn't really suit me. I wanted to go another way because the last two years failed. I tried to train with the new programme, but with all the travel it didn't work. It was my decision. I tried the new training plan for two years and realised there would be no result." (delfi.lv, 08 Oct 2021; sportacentrs.com, 06 Oct 2020) DUAL SPORT OLYMPIAN At the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver he competed in the 5000m speed skating event at the Richmond Oval in Vancouver, before crossing the city to compete in the 1500m short track event at the Pacific Coliseum later the same day. "For me, switching is not the hardest part. It's just the physical and mental preparation that's important." (haraldssilovs.com, 04 Feb 2014; morethanthegames.co.uk, 14 Feb 2010) FURTHER EDUCATION In 2021, he completed a sports studies course with the Sports Education Agency in Latvia. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2021)
Other sports	He competed in both short track and speed skating at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. (morethanthegames.co.uk, 14 Feb 2010)

www.facebook.com/haralds86/
twitter.com/SilovsH

Injuries

He sustained a cut to his left foot following contact with another skater during the mass start event at the 2021 World Single Distances Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands. As a result he underwent surgery, which required several months of recovery. (lsm.lv, 07 Oct 2021; jauns.lv, 16 Feb 2021) He broke his hand at the 2019 World Cup event in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America. (Athlete, 14 Nov 2019) He broke his ankle in 2005 and was out of action for six weeks. (Athlete, 26 Jan 2017)