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Latvia celebrates first-ever World Championship medal with national holiday after bronze-medal win

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Team Latvia made history on Sunday, winning the nation’s first-ever medal at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. Defenseman Kristians Rubins scored twice, including the overtime-winner to defeat the United States 4-3.

Both the team and the country as a whole responded to the win with exuberant celebration. Though Latvia co-hosted the championship, the bronze-medal game was played in Tampere, Finland.

Latvian fans still turned out in droves, with the celebration growing even larger when the team returned to Riga on Monday.

“When I grew up, when all boys grew up, we never imagined actually to play in the quarters,” Latvian forward Roberts Bukarts said after the victory. “Now we show to young guys, this is the goal. This is possible. This dream came to reality.”

Fans back home celebrated the win by leaving flowers at the American Embassy in Riga, a national tradition after winning an international game. Even Latvian president Egils Levits joined in, adding a few blooms to the avalanche of flowers.

The Latvian parliament joined in on the festivities themselves. In a late-night session Sunday night, they would unanimously declare Monday a national holiday in honor of the win. Multiple members of parliament showed up in the team’s jerseys, and the legislature took only 10 minutes to make their decision.

By the time the team returned home, their country had prepared a heroes’ welcome. In a nation of 1.88 million people, a sea of red and white filled the streets of Riga. Fans cheered as the team’s plane flew overhead, growing only louder once players came to greet the crowd.

The team put up a spectacular performance in the tournament, vastly outperforming expectations. Latvia had never placed above seventh before this year, where they eliminated the powerhouse of Team Sweden in a major upset before losing to Canada in the semifinals. Arturs Silovs, a goaltending prospect for the Canucks, won tournament MVP, putting up a 40-save performance in the quarterfinals and making 26 saves in the bronze-medal game. Even without a gold medal, Latvia had plenty to celebrate.

Screenshot: Kristians Rubins via @NHLFlames/Twitter

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