Diana Krumina

Started: She began competing in throwing events in 2014. (Athlete, 07 Nov 2019) Reason: She was spotted by Latvian coaches while attending the 2013 World Championships in Lyon, France. "My friend [Latvian Para athlete Aigars Apinis] was competing and I was supporting him. Some coaches saw that my hands were really strong and said, 'Come on, we will go to the stadium and try to throw the javelin'. I said, 'No, no, leave me alone'." She went on to try the sport, and began competing the following year. (paralympic.org, 03 Apr 2018) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Facebook profile, 31 Dec 2023) Awards: She and equestrian Rihards Snikus were Latvia's flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (medias.paris2024.org, 28 Aug 2024) She was named Latvian Female Para Athlete of the Year for 2023 at the Three Star Awards. (Toyota Latvija Facebook page, 18 Jan 2024; jauns.lv, 18 Jan 2024) She was the flag bearer for Latvia at the opening ceremony of the 2018 European Championships in Berlin, Germany. (IPC, 20 Aug 2018) She received the Riga Sport Laureate Award for Best Athlete with an Impairment in 2017. (skaties.lv, 09 Dec 2017) She was Latvia's flag bearer during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (MyInfo, 06 Sep 2016) Additional Info: DIFFICULT CHILDHOOD She endured a difficult childhood. Her biological father did not want to have a baby, and left her mother before she was born. Her stepfather and mother both had alcohol abuse problems, and she witnessed domestic violence in the home. "I haven't seen my real father, he asked my mother to have an abortion and then disappeared when she did not. Later I found out that while my mother was pregnant with me she took all sorts of pills, and later she had problems with alcohol. I don't think about it every day, and it doesn't affect my life anymore. In the past, I was looking for reasons and wanted answers for why this had happened to me, but I have made the effort to try to live on, leaving everything bad in the past." (jauns.lv, 22 Aug 2017) MOVE TO GERMANY She moved to Germany in 2010 with her former partner, who had been offered a contract to play for a German wheelchair basketball club. She took part in training sessions for fun before being offered a contract to also play for the club. "I'm proud to be Latvian. I have had offers to change my citizenship, but I have always refused because my heart will be always in Latvia." (fronte.lv, 01 Oct 2018; skaties.lv, 10 Feb 2017)

Sporting Relatives: Her sister Daiga Dadzite has served as the president of the Latvian Paralympic Committee. (jauns.lv, 22 Aug 2017)