Draft:Kristīne Blaževiča


Kristīne Blaževiča
Personal information
NationalityLatvian
Born (2001-12-11) 11 December 2001 (age 22)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventHeptathlon
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Heptathlon 6146 (2023)
Pentathlon 4430 (2024)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Latvia
European U18 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gyor Heptathlon

Kristīne Blaževiča (born 11 December 2001) is a Latvian multi-event athlete. In 2022, she became Latvian national champion over 100m hurdles. In 2023, she became NCAA champion in the pentathlon, and in 2024 she became Latvian national champion in the heptathlon.[1]

Early and personal life

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She is the daughter of Latvian former international athlete Jeļena Blaževiča and her husband Jurjis Blazevica. Her godmother, and first athletics coach, is four-time Olympian Valentīna Gotovska.[2][3]

She attended Jūrmala Sports School in Jūrmala, Latvia.[4] She moved to the United States to study at the University of Texas having her freshman academic year 2020-21.[5][6]

Career

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She was a silver medalist in the heptathlon at the European Athletics U18 Championships in 2018 in Győr.[7] She finished fifth in the heptathlon at the 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships in Tallin.[8]

2022

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Competing for the University of Texas, she won the pentathlon at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Iowa in February 2022.[9] The following month she finished sixth in the NCAA Indoor Championships in the pentathlon, held in Birmingham, Alabama.[10]

In June 2022, she won her first national title, winning the Latvian national championships title over 100 metres hurdles.[11]

2023

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She won the 2023 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships pentathlon title in Albuquerque, New Mexico in February 2023.[12]

In May 2023 she won the heptathlon at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, setting a new personal best points total of 6164.[13] She finished third in the heptathlon at the 2023 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, in Austin, Texas in June 2023. In doing so, she helped the Texas Longhorns capture their first women's team title since 2005. [14]

She competed for Latvia in the long jump at the 2023 European Team Championships in Silesia.[15]

2024

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In March 2024, she finished third in the pentathlon at the 2024 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston, Massachusetts.[16]

In June 2024, she finished third in the heptathlon at the 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon with a tally of 6126 points.[17]

Later that month, she became Latvian national champion in the heptathlon witb a total of 5827 points in Valmiera. For the 2024-25 academic year she transferred to the University of Illinois after four years in Texas.[18][19][20]

References

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  1. ^ "Kristīne Blaževiča". World Athletics.
  2. ^ "Kristine Blaževiča". jauns.lv. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  3. ^ Harmon, Kaitlin (7 June 2021). "A bond, a photograph, three Latvian female athletes: Texas freshman Kristine Blazevica's track history runs deep". The Daily Texan. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  4. ^ "The pentathlete Kristine Blaževiča becomes the world season leader with a personal record". jurmula.lv. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Texas Relays: Kristine Blazevica helps pace Longhorns with silver finish in heptathlon". Statesman. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  6. ^ Hoang, Li (26 April 2023). "Leo Neugebauer, Kristine Blazevica shine in first half of Texas Relays". The Daily Texan. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Győr European U18 Championships | Results | World Athletics".
  8. ^ "Championships Round Up, 25-27 February 2022". Decathletes of Europe. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  9. ^ "KRISTINE BLAZEVICA 1ST PLACE WOMEN'S PENTATHLON AND 18TH LONG JUMP - BIG 12 INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022". hokaoneonepostalnationals.com. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  10. ^ "PENTATHLETE BLAŽEVIČA TOOK SIXTH PLACE AT THE NCAA WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS". Sportsacentrs.com. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Latvian Championships". World Athletics. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  12. ^ "NCAA Division I Indoor Championships". World Athletics. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Blaževiča becomes the 'Big 12' champion with a personal record". Delfi.lv. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Kristine Blazevica 3rd Place Women's Heptathlon - NCAA D1 Outdoor Championships 2023". Runnerspace. 11 June 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  15. ^ "European Athletics Team Championships Second Division". World Athletics. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Kristine Blazevica 3rd Place Women's Pentathlon - NCAA D1 Indoor Championships 2024". Runnerspace. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  17. ^ "KRISTINE BLAZEVICA 3RD PLACE WOMEN'S HEPTATHLON - NCAA D1 OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024". Runnerspace. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Latvian Championships". World Athletics. 29 June 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  19. ^ "BLAŽEVIČA: "I CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE WHEN I START WITH LATVIAN GIRLS"". sportacentrs.com. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Illini Track and Field Signs All-American Transfer Kristine Blazevica". Fightingillini. July 1, 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.