Martins Plavins and his teammate caused a major upset in the 2008 Summer Olympics when they beat the number 1 ranked beach volleyball side.

MARTINS Plavins, and his beach volleyball teammate, caused a major upset in the 2008 Summer Olympics when they beat the number 1 ranked side in the competition. It was four years later when he took Bronze at London 2012 – the feat he sees as his greatest achievement in the sport to date.

In this exclusive interview we talk to Martins about his some of his triumphs at the Olympics as well as other career defining moments.

Read on to find out about all his positive work with the young volleyball enthusiasts in Latvia, his aims to make to reach, and shine, at Tokyo 2020, as well as his efforts to gain a Masters degree geared towards coaching and promoting the sport.

When did you start playing beach volleyball and had you always been
involved in sport?

I started to play when I was 16! It was an indoor volleyball summer camp and we also tried beach volleyball. So I liked it very much because I was short compared to other kids and when you play beach volleyball you always touch a ball and attack but if you play indoor volleyball you don’t attack if you are shorter than others.

What were your earliest successes in the sport and when did you realise  you had a chance of making it to the world stage?

It was in 2004 when I and Aleksandrs Samoilovs won the U-20 European Championship in Slovenia. Then we started to dream about Beijing 2008!

Who have been some of the players you’ve paired with and what have made some of the most productive combinations?

Everything started with Aleksandrs Samoilovs when we won U-20, U-21, U-23 and qualified to Beijing 2008!
Then Janis Smedins and bronze in London 2012!
Also with Haralds Regza we won European Games in Baku in 2015 but we didn’t qualify for Rio.

Now it is Edgars Tocs – we won FIVB 4* in Hague in January and my Olympic dream is alive again!

Martin is back focused on the Olympics and has said he will do whatever he takes to get to Tokyo 2020.

What do you see as your biggest successes during your career?

Bronze 2012 in London! There are lots of great players but only few of them are lucky enough to get an Olympic medal!

Who have been your biggest supporters and mentors along the way?

My wife! Because without her I would have quit a long time ago! Also I want to thank my family and friends because I get a lot of support during bad days or even bad years! Also thanks to all of my coaches and partners because without them I wouldn’t be the player I am now!

Martins sees family as his rock in everything he does in sport and life in general.

What is the beach volleyball scene like in Latvia and what are you doing to help promote?

There are a lot of young kids who want to play beach volleyball but is very hard to get sponsors to start their careers. At that age indoor volleyball can offer something while in beach volleyball you must earn everything yourself. So during winter and sometimes also in summer I work as a coach and I also try to motivate them not to quit but to keep trying.

How hard are you currently training/working out and what sporting or non-sporting projects do you have for the months and years ahead?

My main goal now is to qualify to Tokyo 2020!

During summer I help to organise beach volleyball practices for kids for free.

During winter I work as a coach! And also this winter I plan to finish my studies and get a Masters degree – I will be ‘senior beach volleyball coach in psychological training.