A safe submarine on the shores of Svete. Olympian Agate Rashmane manages her family’s home, finds movement in folk dances / Article

In order to get to Agata’s village, Latvian Television’s “Sports studio” first had to work and clean the road so that it could be passed without complications. Rashmane’s house with a wise message was built on a hill.

“I live in the floodplain meadows. Spring is my favorite season. When the ice melts, I look out the window every morning: “I’ll get to work today! We don’t need a boat yet,” said Rashmane.

David Ernstreit: How do you feel? Who are you? Zemgalite?

Agate Rashmane: Yes. Mom from Riga, dad from Zemgali. I am a Zemgalian. Born and raised in Dobele.

Are you here to stay in this place?

Yes. Can’t get me away. I am the only owner here. I financed and planned all repairs. This is the fifth renovation season – one room every year. I changed the windows in the first year. My favorite place.

You will soon need tanks to arrive…

This one [auto pagalmā] was already bought as a tank…

Agate graduated from the Sports Pedagogy Academy. She can work both as a sports teacher and a shooting coach. For now, she introduces the basics of shooting to beginner children, but she trains at the shooting range in her native Dobele, half an hour’s drive from her home. Here, since the age of 12, Agate has been practicing shooting with a pistol for 15 years under the guidance of Vilnius Celmiņas.

LTV “Sporta studija” also tried what it feels like in shooting practice.

David Ernstreit: Pag, you don’t have any magnification in aiming?

Agate Rashmane: No. And most importantly, we try to close the left eye if we can.

And what are those glasses showing you?

Exactly the same.

What do I do now without glasses?

Yes.

Oh my. Wait, it’s not serious…

Aim under the black bump at the bottom. The finger presses slowly.

Rebound, yes?

Yes, all joints are checked.

Agate’s training starts with a blank, without a cartridge, and all movements are done with a pistol in the right hand.

“When there are breaks, we take [pistoli] in the left hand, because there is an imbalance – you hold a kilogram like a packet of sugar in your right hand all the time, then you become crooked and crooked. Then we take it in the left hand to weigh it down a little,” Rashmane said. “Extensive training, intensity – exactly the same as in all sports. What we do in that volume training is different. It is different than now we will run a lot of kilometers. No, we will be lifting a lot of silhouettes. There are the same ups and downs that all sports, all physical attributes have.”

Coach Celminņš is very satisfied with Agate’s performance in the first shooting series, as there are only one number of hits on the target and only one number nine. Rashmane emphasizes that the main goal is to hit the target with all the bullets together. Anywhere but together.

“If we are together, we can turn those clickers [uz pistoles] and everything will be in the top ten,” explained the shooter.

Agate has watched the Olympic Games since childhood, but has not been able to imagine herself in any of the sports.

“A wonderful sport – I don’t have to run, I don’t have to jump, I don’t have to fight. I don’t have to do anything at all,” Rashmane praised shooting. “This is the moment when I look at all sports and find what I don’t like in each one. If I went to handball practice, I would leave after half a practice, because there you have to cooperate with other people, you have to throw some balls, you have to attack to anyone? Well, no thanks, I don’t need that gate that much.”

From the bronze start at the World Championships, Agate remembers that the hardest moment was staying in the top four. In the finals, after each series of shots, the owner of the lowest score retires.

“Whether you want it or not, you already know how far you are there. Then you understand – either you are the fourth or the medalist,” said the shooter. “It was important to shoot in the direction of the goal, so as not to be disqualified suddenly, but when it came down to three…”

At the Paris Olympic Games, Rashmane hopes to compete in the mixed pairs competition as well – Lauri Strautmanis has good chances to join Agata. True,

shooters will be able to enjoy the Olympic atmosphere quite conditionally, because the competition will take place and their village will also be located 270 kilometers from Paris. The opening ceremony for Rashmane will also be delayed, because the next morning it should already be at the start.

“I’ll look [olimpisko spēļu] in the calendar and in the pillow, there’s nothing else left,” laughs Agate.

There is no point in crying for a long time. Since the second grade, Agate’s passion has been folk dancing. Her experience as a dancer is approaching 20 years. For the third year, she dances in the Jelgava collective “Lielupe”, where the dancers are preparing for the 65th anniversary concert in May. Agate is happy that this time she was able to use the flight to the European Championship for a concert. If not the opening of the Olympic Games, then at least there will be a concert on the Mītava stage.

“Dancing is the place where my movement, physical preparation is. There is music, my emotions, stress, joy – everything is in dance,” revealed Agate. “When my mom turned 40, she said: “Now I understand what I need and what I don’t need.” My relationship with my mom has already turned into a relationship of friends. I think I already understand what I need and what I don’t need. What I don’t need it, I quit right away. I don’t bite my teeth, I don’t fight. If I don’t like it, then goodbye…”

At the Paris Olympics, Agate would like peace and good luck. That should be enough to get everything going.