Jānis Andriksons

Latvian sportsman Jānis Andriksons represented Universitātes Sports Rīga where he competed in speed skating and ice hockey. Whilst at the club Andriksons was dubbed “the new skating star” in 1931 before winning the all-round national speed skating championship in 1933 and 1934. The following year he came first at the academic master competition in St. Moritz, Switzerland. This earned him a place on the Olympic team for the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Games where he skated in the 500, 1,500, and 5,000 metres, with a best result of 16th in the 500 metres. As an ice hockey player Andriksons competed in tournaments in Latvia and Italy, with his career continuing despite it overlapping with World War II. After the war he moved to West Germany before emigrating to Canada in 1948 where he worked at a gold and copper ore mine in Québec.

Personal Bests: 500 – 45.0 (1936); 1500 – 2:28.0 (1935); 5000 – 9:09.8 (1935); 10000 – 18:57.3 (1939).