Passionate about Skating

GRANADA – Latvia’s Normans Beikmanis has been skating for over 20 years and grows to love it more and more every single day.

“I began skating at three-years-old and I started short track at 12-years-old,” he said. “But I quit skating at 15-years-old.”

Beikmanis suffered a potential career-ended knee injury that eventually put him on the operating table and on top of that there were no short track skating teams for him to join in Latvia.

“I knew I wanted to skate again,” said the 22-year-old. “It’s good to be back. I felt lost without skating and I finally feel like myself again.”

It was Beikmanis’s yoga instructor who ultimately convinced him to get back into the sport he loved.

“We went for lunch one day and one thing led to another,” said the BA School of Business and Finance student.

Beikmanis has joined a team in Latvia and has been back on the ice for six months now.

“[My older sister] is my coach,” he said. “She has very good ideas of interesting ways to train. Sometimes we go to other countries to see their training and train with them; that makes it better for both [country’s teams].”

And his sister, former Olympian Evita Krievane, is also at the 27th Winter Universiade competing in the short track speed skating event.

“It’s very good,” said Beikmanis. “It’s the first big competition we have been to together.”

This international event marks a big milestone in the siblings’ careers together and their family has been nothing but supportive.

“Our mom is texting all the time and asking how it’s going,” said Evita Krievane, the Latvian Academy of Sport Education student. “All our family is cheering for us. I have a big family and all [of them are] cheering for us.”

The duo will continue to compete in the short track event in the Universiade Igloo until the finals take place on 13 February at 17:20.

“Every day I wake up with a smile, it feels amazing,” he said. “I knew anything was possible.”

Kelcey Wright, U-Media Reporter