PUSPURE Sanita

Date of Birth: 21 Dec 1981

Age: 39

Gender: Female

Place of birth: RIGA

Birth Country:

Latvia

Place of residence : BALLINCOLLIG

Residence Country:

Ireland

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Rowing	Women's Single Sculls	DNS

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Single Sculls Heat 2 #8	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Single Sculls Quarterfinal 1 #63	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Single Sculls Semifinal A/B 1 #105	Finished
	Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Single Sculls Final B #125	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Olympic Games

Year	Location	1x
2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	13
2012	London, GBR	13

World Championships

Year	Location	1x	2x
2019	Linz, AUT	1	-
2018	Plovdiv, BUL	1	-
2017	Sarasota, FL, USA	4	-
2015	Aiguebelette-le-Lac, FRA	11	-
2014	Amsterdam, NED	4	-
2011	Bled, SLO	-	12

European Championships

Year	Location	1x
2020	Poznan, POL	1
2019	Lucerne, SUI	1

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
2	Single Sculls	2018	Lucerne, SUI	7:39.17
2	Single Sculls	2018	Belgrade, SRB	7:25.30
3	Single Sculls	2021	Lucerne, SUI	7:30.02
5	Single Sculls	2017	Belgrade, SRB	7:36.20
7	Single Sculls	2017	Poznan, POL	7:28.79
9	Single Sculls	2017	Lucerne, SUI	7:42.23

Legend
DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, EXC - Excluded

Watching television. (irishexaminer.com, 26 Oct 2018)

Occupation:

Sports Science - Setanta College, Ireland

Husband Kaspars, son Patrick, daughter Daniela

Languages spoken:

English, Latvian, Russian

Old Collegians Boat Club [Ireland]

She missed the 2017 European Championships in Racice, Czech Republic, after she became ill. (the42.ie, 26 Dec 2018)

She began rowing at age 15 in Jurmala, Latvia. (Athlete, 12 Jul 2012)

She initially took up rowing to try something new, but gave up the sport when she got married and moved to Ireland. Visiting Dublin Zoo with her family, they got lost and ended up in Islandbridge on the River Liffey where there were several rowing clubs. Her husband encouraged her to return to the sport. "He was the one pushing me out the door to go back rowing. I took it up at first just for a little bit of peace on the water and to lose weight after having the kids, but soon it became a bit more serious." (marywhiteblogging.wordpress.com, 13 Jul 2016; the42.ie, 08 Aug 2015; Athlete, 12 Jul 2012)

To win a medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (tokyo2020.org, 29 Jan 2021)

Winning gold in the women's single sculls event at the world championships in 2018 and 2019. (rowingireland.ie, 05 Mar 2020; irishtimes.com, 01 Sep 2019; Row360 YouTube channel, 20 Sep 2018)

Her sister. (the42.ie, 26 Dec 2018)

Philosophy:

"As long as you believe you will be there, you will be." (Setanta College YouTube channel, 13 Dec 2018)

She was named the 2020 Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year. (tokyo2020.org, 29 Jan 2021)

She was named Cork [Ireland] Person of the Year for 2020. (tokyo2020.org, 29 Jan 2021)

She was named Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year for 2019. (the42.ie, 20 Dec 2019)

In July 2016 she received an outstanding achievement award from the Evening Echo newspaper in Cork, Ireland. (eveningecho.ie, 14 Jul 2016)

General Interest

General
FROM LATVIA TO IRELAND
She represented Latvia in rowing at junior international level. She moved to Ireland in 2006 after her husband got a job at Dublin Airport. She returned to rowing in 2010 after a six-year break and in 2011 she obtained Irish citizenship. "It [returning to rowing] was just to have a break on the water from children and all that. Having some time to myself, and trying to lose a bit of weight and so on. But it took over very quickly. I remember during the summer already thinking, 'Just get an Irish passport, you could go to the Olympics.' It was kind of like a dreamy idea but it became reality after all." (row-360.com, 17 Jun 2020; Athlete, 12 Jul 2012; oldcollegians.ie, 06 Jun 2012; irishtimes.com, 23 May 2012)

MOTIVATION
Her father-in-law passed away in 2017, while her sister Inese was found to have cancer in the same year. She was still able to win a gold medal at the 2018 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. "I had countless [training] sessions where I was thinking about my sister when she was diagnosed. She had a real battle on her hands, so I couldn't feel sorry for myself. I used [that motivation] a lot of times when I thought, 'That's it, I can't do any work'. She did give me strength, which is kind of funny, because how do you get strength from a situation like that? I don't know. You just turn things around, I suppose." (the42.ie, 26 Dec 2018)

Milestones

She became the first female athlete representing Ireland to win a world title in single sculls by claiming victory at the 2018 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. (worldrowing.com, 30 Nov 2018)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event
DNS:: Did not start

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos