Latvian Volleyball stars claim trio of Three Stars Award 2025

Latvian Volleyball was prominently represented among the nominees and award recipients of the Three Stars Award 2025, thereby highlighting the sport’s steady development and outstanding achievements at both national and international levels. The official awards ceremony took place on January 7 in Riga.

The Three Stars Award is one of the most prestigious and significant annual honours in the Latvian sports community. Its aim is to identify, recognise, and celebrate the most outstanding athletes, coaches, teams, and sports personalities across the country. The award is presented in multiple categories, and the winners are determined by combining jury evaluations, expert and journalist votes, and public voting, thus making this recognition both professionally credible and widely supported by fans.

Nominees in all ten categories were put forward in early November by sports industry professionals – representatives of Olympic and non-Olympic sports federations, sports-related organisations, as well as sports journalists. The list of candidates qualifying for the second round, the public vote, was then approved by the jury. Overall winners were determined by combining four evaluation components: public voting results (30%), the jury’s assessment (30%), the opinions of accredited journalists (30%), and votes from athletes (10%).

The Three Stars Award is organised annually by the Latvian Olympic Committee in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia.

Volleyball Nominees for the Three Stars Award 2025

Volleyball representatives were nominated in several prestigious categories:

•    Team of the Year / Professional Sports Club – Latvia Women’s National Volleyball Team
•    Small Team of the Year – Tina Graudiņa/Anastasija Samoilova; Kristians Fokerots/ Gustavs Auziņš; Mārtiņš Pļaviņš/Kristians Fokerots (Beach Volleyball)
•    Sportswoman of the Year – Marta Kamēlija Levinska (Volleyball)
•    Sportsman of the Year – Kristians Fokerots (Beach Volleyball)
•    Rising Star of the Year – Gustavs Auziņš (Beach Volleyball)

Three Stars Award Laureates in Volleyball

Small Team of the Year – Tina Graudiņa / Anastasija Samoilova (Beach Volleyball)
Latvia’s Beach Volleyball duo Tina Graudiņa and Anastasija Samoilova made history in 2025 by winning Latvia’s first-ever World Championship title in women’s Beach Volleyball. During the season, the pair reached 4th place in the FIVB World Ranking, won two silver medals at Pro Beach Tour Elite events, and finished in the Top 5 on another seven occasions. At the European Championship in Düsseldorf, they placed 5th, and at the end of the year they were also named FIVB Team of the Year 2025.

Youth Coach of the Year – Mārtiņš Pļaviņš (Beach Volleyball)
In the past year, Mārtiņš Pļaviņš established himself as one of Latvia’s most outstanding youth coaches. His athletes Kristians Fokerots and Gustavs Auziņš won gold medals at the U21 World Championship in Mexico, repeating a Latvian achievement last accomplished 20 years ago. Although Pļaviņš began his coaching career relatively recently, he has quickly proven himself as a dedicated, goal-oriented and inspiring professional. The award was presented at the official ceremony by the President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs.

Lifetime Contribution to Sport – Andris Vitauts Kļaviņš (Volleyball)
The Lifetime Contribution to Sport award was presented to Andris Vitauts Kļaviņš, one of the most influential figures in the history of Latvian women’s Volleyball. A coach, educator and journalist, he has devoted more than six decades to the development of Volleyball, educating generations of athletes and shaping the women’s Volleyball system in Latvia. Despite his respectable age, he continues to work actively with U19 teams at the Riga Volleyball School. The award was presented by the Honorary President of the Latvian Olympic Committee, Mr Vilnis Baltiņš.