On August 10 a SWOST team member Kaspars Sakniņš - an LSIIDP board member and the president of the Biathlon Federation of Latvia, presented the SWOST tool in another international gender equality event organized by the Biathlon Federation of Latvia thus promoting the project tool and the results.

The Training to Win project team has the world's 7th fastest BMX rider! Our ambassador Renārs Auga reached the finals of the BMX World Championship, which took place in the French city of Nantes, winning 7th place in the cruiser M17-24 competition. "I really liked the track - it's my style, technical, one that requires a lot of work. There was huge support in the stands, Latvians shouted. Luck helped, but it also has to be earned. The start failed in the semi-final. A couple of drivers had a crash, while I made a maneuver at the right moment and went fourth on the last straight, making it to the final. In the final, I drove from the seventh track, although I really wanted the eighth, so that there is no one next to me on one side. I was squeezed at the start, but in the turn I made a maneuver again and managed to "bite" one participant. The main goal was to reach the final. I have repeated my better result and keep the title of the 7th fastest driver in the world for another year." Renars, You are our joy, pride, example and inspiration for the whole BMX family! You are the best!

Interview with a horse rider Agnese Bērziņa. Participants of the interview:

Agnese Bērziņa – the horse rider and the first coach of her daughter

Melānija Kārklīte – the horse rider

Zingo the Beautiful – a senior horse of 21 year of age

Kantoss – a junior horse of 5 years of age

Agnese Bērziņa is riding a horse for 10 years now and having started as an amateur grew to horse riding competitions and later became the first coach of her daughter Melānija – for 5 years, who almost grew up in a stable from age 4. When Melānija obtained the basic elements of horse riding and grew up to jumping hurdles, she moved to a professional coach and is still practicing under one of the best equestrian coaches of Latvia. Melānija is still riding the senior horse Zingo and jumping hurdles up to 80cm even though Zingo for the past years has arthritis and can carry only a very light weight.

Horse riding or equestrian sports is a unique sports and the only Olympic sports where men and women compete together on equal rules. Being asked if it is really equal for both genders to compete on equal basis, Agnese mentioned that a very good example is the World Cup (Riga stage), where only two women had qualified to the final among the rest of the men. This shows that there are differences in bodybuilding of men and women and even though it is important to make a team with the horse and have a good contact, strength which by nature men have more, is also a crucial factor in competing and winning. And cutting a long story short and summing all up, Agnese added that it does not seem on equal basis for both genders.

VIDEO of the full interview watch HERE.

The main goal of the Erasmus+ Sport program project "Training to Win" is to promote education and sports, paying special attention to the development of skills, as well as to the implementation of dual careers of athletes, that is, along with professional development in sports, they also get an education. To develop professionally and study at the same time, you need a lot of willpower, motivation, perseverance and determination. Renārs Auga, the ambassador of our project, is exactly like that. He has just returned from the European BMX Championship, which took place from July 8 to 10 in Dessel, Belgium.