Artūrs Jakovļevs (born May 30, 1967) is a Latvian former swimmer, who specialized in sprint butterfly events.[1] He is a three-time Olympian (1992, 1996, and 2000), a former Latvian record holder in the 100 m butterfly, and a member of the national swimming team under head coaches Alberts Pisarevs and Vladimirs Maslovskis.
Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | Artūrs Jakovļevs |
National team | Latvia |
Born | (1967-05-30) 30 May 1967 (age 55) Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union |
Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) |
Weight | 85 kg (187 lb) |
Sport | |
Sport | Swimming |
Strokes | Butterfly |
Club | Rīga Swimming School |
Coach | Alberts Pisarevs Vladimirs Maslovskis |
Jakovļevs became the first ever Latvian swimmer to compete at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona since the post-Soviet era. In the 100 m butterfly, he placed thirty-third on the morning prelims in a national record of 55.95.[2]
On his second Olympic appearance in Atlanta 1996, Jakovļevs failed to reach the top 16 final in the 100 m butterfly, finishing in forty-ninth place with a time of 56.62.[3]
Eight years after competing in his first Olympics, Jakovļevs qualified for his third team in the men's 100 m butterfly, as a 33-year-old, at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[4] He achieved a FINA B-standard entry time of 56.58 from the European Championships in Helsinki, Finland.[5][6] Swimming in heat one, he held off Sri Lanka's Conrad Francis by almost half a body length to race for the fourth seed in his personal best of 56.63. Jakovļevs failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed fifty-sixth overall in the prelims.[7][8][9]