Tina Graudiņa, who won a historic gold medal for Latvia in beach volleyball at the World Championship at the weekend, was given a ceremonial welcome at Rīga Airport on Tuesday. Graudiņa returned home minus her partner Anastasija Samoilova, who has already gone on a vacation after winning the championship.
Graudiņa and Samoilova won the world championship in Adelaide, Australia, on Sunday, an unprecedented success for Latvia in beach volleyball. Latvia had never before managed to win medals in beach volleyball at the world championships.
At the plane's arrival gate, Tina was first greeted by her family, and the athlete was given the red carpet treatment to the airport building with the champion's cup in her hands and a gold medal around her neck.
"I remember that feeling [of victory], and it comes back to me every now and then. That moment when the ball landed on the other side of the court [in the final match], inside... It's cliché to say, but indescribable. I don't care how many people were looking at me, I just ran around the field and screamed with joy," Graudiņa told reporters.