Valters Kreišs
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Latvian | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 September 2003 Riga, Latvia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Pole vault | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | Pole vault: 5.82m (Roubaix, 2025) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Valters Kreišs (born 19 September 2003) is a Latvian pole vaulter and Latvian record holder in pole vault.[1]
Career
He was born and raised in Riga. He attended Rīgas sporta skola "Arkādija". He is coached by Mareks Ārents.[2][3][4]
He won the Latvian national championship pole vault title for the first time in July 2023 in Valmiera.[5] He finished fourth in the pole vault at the 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships in Espoo, Finland, with a new personal best height of 5.60 metres.[6]
He made his senior championships debut at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, where a clearance of 5.45 meters saw him share 14th place.[7] That month, he increased his personal best and Latvian under-23 record to 5.72 metres and retained his Latvian national title.[8][9] He competed in the pole vault at the 2024 Paris Olympics where he qualified for the final with a 5.70 metres clearance, before placing twelfth overall in the final.[10][11] In February 2025 he set a new national record with a 5.82 metres clearance at Roubaix.[12]
He competed at the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands where he cleared 5.75 metres in the qualifying round to reach the final of the competition.[13] In the final, he finished in sixth place overall, the highest finish achieved by a Latvian athlete at the Championships.[3]
He competed at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing in March 2025, where he tied for eighth place in the pole vault with a 5.50 metres clearance. It was the best placed finish by a Latvian athlete at a global games for 15 years.[4] He won the gold medal at the 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen, Norway in July 2025.[14] Later that month, he won the silver medal for Latvia at the 2025 Summer World University Games in Germany.[15] He competed at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in September 2025, without advancing to the final.[16]
References
- ^ "Valters Kreišs". world athletics. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Breaking records and growing dreadlocks. Pole vaulter Valters Kreiss strives to overtake his coach". lsm.lv. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Pole vaulter Valters Kreišs best Latvian athlete at the European Indoor Championships". 10 March 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ a b Ozerinskis, Emil (22 March 2025). "KING TAKES A STEP CLOSER TO DUPLANTIS, KREIS FINISHES IN EIGHTH PLACE AT THE WORLD CUP". Sportacentrs.com.
- ^ "Latvian Championships". World Athletics. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "KREIS WINS THE FOURTH PLACE IN THE POLE VAULT AT THE EUROPEAN U23 CHAMPIONSHIP". sportacentre.com. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Valters Kreiš, the leading pole vaulter in the Baltics: "I'm training, I feel strong and confident in myself"". jauns.lv. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Latvian Championships". World Athletics. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Pole vaulter Kreiš admits that starting at the European Championship was a good experience before the Olympic Games". jauna.lv. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Men's Pole Vault Results - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
- ^ "Latvian Olympics athletes guide: Part 1". lsm.lv. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
- ^ "Valters Kreišs Francijā uzstāda jaunu Latvijas rekordu kārtslēkšanā!". Latvijas Vieglatlētikas savienība. 15 February 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
- ^ "Kreišs advances to the finals of the European Athletics Indoor Championships". Apollo.lv. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "Ukraine's Felfner wins javelin in final round and Lauria defends men's shot title". European Athletics. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
- ^ "FISU World University Games". World Athletics. 27 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ^ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. 15 Sep 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2025.