Kārlis Kļava

Kārlis Kļava (9 March 1907 – 1941) was a Latvian military officer and sports shooter. He placed 23rd in the 25 m rapid fire pistol event at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[1] Next year he won that event at the 1937 World Championships,[2] becoming the first Latvian athlete to win a world title, and was selected as Latvian Sportspersonality of the year.[3]

Kārlis Kļava
Kļava on a 2022 stamp of Latvia
Personal information
Born(1907-03-09)9 March 1907
Zvārde parish, Latvia
Died1941 (aged 33–34)
Sport
SportSports shooting
ClubASK

After graduating from the Liepāja State Technical College in 1928, Kļava served in the Latvian army. In 1931, he graduated from the Latvian War School, and from 1932 to 1940 he was a lieutenant of the Riga Infantry Regiment. In parallel with his military career, in the late 1930s he studied engineering at the Faculty of Mechanics of the University of Latvia. Kļava died in 1941 in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp.[4][5]

References
  1. "Kārlis Kļava". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  2. Historical Results. www.issf-sports.org
  3. Stagis, Andris (March 6, 2012). "This Week in History". Sports Newspaper (Riga: SIA "Mediju nams") 10 (836): p. 45
  4. Latvian encyclopedia. Vol. 3. Riga: Valerija Belokonis publishing house. 2005. p. 404. ISBN 9984-9482-3-4.
  5. "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
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