Haralds Silovs
Harald Silovs ( born April 7, 1986 in Riga, also Heralds Silovs ) is a Latvian Shorttracker.
Silovs went before his fifteenth birthday in February 2001 for the first time at an international short track speed skating competition at the start, at the Junior World Championship. There, however, he came out in any discipline through the quarter-finals. One year and two years later, also at the Junior World Championships, he could never achieve a better ranking and different from most even after the first run. In addition to the Junior World Championships 2003 took Silovs also at the European Championships and at the World Cup finals, but again he did not survive the first round. At the World Championship 2004 he came over 1500 meters while the quarter-finals, but was disqualified there.
As one of the few Latvian Short trackers and international class he was nominated end of October 2004 but for the second World Cup of the season 2004/ 05 in China. There he met before on the 1500 m distance to the semifinals, left there as a fifth however. Also the next World Cup he could repeat this success and missed the finals in third place now just barely. This upward trend he confirmed at the European Championships in 2005, where he, however, also had to end his race in the 1500 -meter semifinals. At the last World Cup season in Slovakia him over 1000 meters for the first time succeeded in jumping into the semifinals. At the World Championship 2005 he was able to reach the semi-finals over 1500 meters again.
In the World Cup of the season 2005/ 06 he no longer made the semi-finals, also at the European and World Cup 2006, he failed to make it into the semifinals. However, in April 2006, he established the current Latvian record over the 500 meters in 42.641 seconds, about the other distances Silovs could undercut all national records by the end of 2007. In the World Cup 2006/ 07 Silovs reach its previously best results. In two Finaleinzügen he was once fifth over 1500 meters and one third over 1000 meters, which to this day his only podium finish meant. In addition, he also pulled at the European Championships in 2007 once the final one, was over 1000 meters but disqualified. No top- 10 ranking, however, he reached the World Championship.
The 2007/08 season ended for Silovs in the World Cup, although with little success, because he had only one ninth as the best result, but he was by far European champions ahead of Dutchman Niels Kerstholt in the Latvian Ventspils. At the European Championships he also won two gold medals and one silver medal in the individual sections, for which there were points that were added to the overall result. At the World Cup but he cut off not successful. In the short track speed skating World Cup 2008/ 09 Silovs started with a tenth place as the best result.
In addition to the short-range ( short track speed skating ) Silovs went in August 2007 and 2008 for the first time internationally at the long haul, so in speed skating at the start. In the Summer Classics in Calgary he took a second place over 3000 meters in 2008 quite some success. He also provided all Latvian records to new, so that it holds all national Bestzteiten both in the short track speed skating and speed skating in November 2008.
Harald Silovs studying Economics and Management at the University of Ventspils, where he has the opportunity at the same time to train for his sport. Prior to the 2008 European Championship, which he won, Silovs was a member of international training group of German coach Jeroen Otter.