Martins Dukurs

Martins Dukurs ( born March 31, 1984 in Riga) is a Latvian skeleton bob.

Martins Dukurs debuted in December 2000 in Winterberg 34th in skeleton World Cup. The following January, he also started the first time in Skeleton World Championships. In Calgary, he was 28th in the 2001/ 02 season, he raced in the newly created skeleton European Cup. The first outstanding performance in the World Cup he came in tenth place in January 2005 in the pre-Olympic race in Turin. At the Olympic Winter Games in 2006, he then reached the seventh place. At the European Championships that year he finished eighth. In the season 2006/2007 Martin's Dukurs joined the SRTS Race Team Skeleton and managed in the same season the final breakthrough. At the World Championships in St. Moritz, he finished sixth. At the European Championships in Koenigssee behind his brother Tomass Dukurs fourth and at the penultimate World Cup race of the season in Winterberg third In the 2009/2010 season he won four World Cup races, came in every race in the top five and won the overall title of the World Cup season. At the Olympic Winter Games 2010 in Vancouver Martins Dukurs won the silver medal behind Canadian Jon Montgomery. After three of four passes he was still in the lead, then slipped but at the last and decisive run to second place back.

In the post-Olympic season, he won the first title to be awarded in Skeleton Championship 2011 in Winterberg. In the World Cup he achieved seven podium finishes, including five wins in eight races. He convincingly won the overall World Cup standings. The strong season was crowned by winning the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Koenigssee. He drove at all four passages best. Through the victories in the 2012 World Championships and the World Cup Dukurs the first Skeletonist two years has been caught behind the other two titles. On 19 January 2013 he won for the fourth time the Skeleton Championship, and at the Skeleton World Cup in 2013, he won silver. At the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014 he again won the silver medal.

Since 2010 Dukurs is trained, among others, by the former world champion Gregor Stähli.

Winter Olympic Games Skeleton at the 2010 Winter Olympics Skeleton at the 2014 Winter Olympics 2009–10 Skeleton World Cup 2010–11 Skeleton World Cup 2011–12 Skeleton World Cup 2012–13 Skeleton World Cup Alain Wicki Christian Auer Bruce Sandford Andi Schmid Ryan Davenport Willi Schneider (skeleton racer) Martin Rettl Jeff Pain Duff Gibson Kristan Bromley Alexander Tretiakov Franz Plangger Lincoln DeWitt Chris Soule Zach Lund Walter Stern Frank Rommel
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