The Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia explained that the current rules provide for monetary awards for outstanding achievements in sports. The Latvian national basketball team for boys under 16, which won the European Championship for the first time in history, may be eligible for a prize of up to 42,687 euros. This amount is intended for the entire team — players, coaches, and specialists supporting the national team. Javelin thrower Patriks Gailums can claim a prize of up to 5,122 euros for his third place at the European Athletics Championship. His coach and other specialists who worked with the athlete may receive an additional total of up to 2,561 euros. The current rules provide for monetary awards for first, second, and third places at European Championships. Therefore, Oskars Grava, who finished fifth in the 200 meters, will not be eligible for any payout. Bronze medalists at the European Beach Volleyball Championship, Tina Graudine and Anastasia Samoilova, will also remain without an additional prize. The reason is that on November 23 of last year, the Latvian athletes became world champions in beach volleyball. According to the current rules, a monetary prize is awarded only for one — the highest — result achieved by the athlete during the period from October 1 of the previous year to September 30 of the current year. Since the title of world champions is a higher achievement than third place at the European Championship, a separate prize for the European bronze for Graudine and Samoilova is not provided. All decisions regarding the provision of monetary awards are reviewed and approved by the Latvian National Sports Council. Recall that on Saturday, the Latvian U-16 team defeated France 75:69 in the final of the European Championship and won the title of European champions in this age category for the first time in history. On the same day, Patriks Gailums became the bronze medalist at the European Athletics Championship. In his best attempt, the Latvian javelin thrower achieved a result of 82.97 meters, just one centimeter ahead of the fourth-place Polish athlete, Dawid Wegner. On August 16, the Latvian duo Tina Graudine/Anastasia Samoilova won bronze at the European Beach Volleyball Championship in the Polish town of Stare Jabłonki. In the third-place match, the Latvians defeated the French representatives, Clémence Vieira and Aline Chamero, with a score of 2:1 (20:22, 21:16, 15:12).
