Patriks Gailums

Patriks Gailums (born 10 May 1998) is a Latvian javelin thrower. He won the bronze medal at the 2026 European Championships, silver at the 2022 European Throwing Cup, and is a four-time medalist at the Latvian Athletics Championships.

Career 2013–2018 In July 2013, Gailums won bronze in the javelin throw at the European Youth Summer Olympic Festival in Utrecht with a throw of 65.73 meters. Two years later, he finished in 11th place at the World U18 Championships in Cali with a throw of 66.75 meters. In July 2016, Gailums set a new personal best of 74.02 meters in the qualifiers at the World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz. However, in the final, he did not reach the same level and finished in 11th place with a throw of 66.84 meters.

In July 2017, Gailums set a new personal best with a throw of 81.91 meters at a competition in Valmiera, which also became a new world junior best for the year. Later that month at the European Junior Championships in Grosseto, he finished in fourth place with a throw of 73.43 meters. In July 2018, Gailums took bronze at the Latvian championships in Riga with a throw of 75.57 meters. The following month, he finished 14th overall in the qualifiers at the European Championships in Berlin with a throw of 78.10 meters, which was not enough for a place in the final.

2019–2022 In July 2019, Gailums finished in fourth place at the European U23 Championships in Gävle with a throw of 79.81 meters. Later that month, he took his second consecutive bronze at the Latvian championships in Ogre with a throw of 77.47 meters. In March 2022, he won silver at the European Throwing Cup in Leiria with a throw of 79.49 meters.

In May 2022, Gailums improved his personal best twice. First, he improved it by 66 centimeters to 82.57 meters at a competition in Ogre and then by over another meter to 83.65 meters at a competition in Kalamata, Greece. The following month, Gailums won silver at the Latvian championships in Valmiera, only beaten by Rolands Štrobinders. In July 2022, he competed at the World Championships in Eugene, but did not advance from the qualifiers in the javelin throw. The following month, Gailums competed at the European Championships in Munich, where he finished in sixth place in the javelin throw.

2023–2026 In June 2023, Gailums improved his personal best by 40 centimeters to 84.05 meters at a competition in Bergamo. In August 2023, he competed at the World Championships in Budapest, but did not advance from the qualifiers, finishing in 21st place overall.

Gailums won the bronze medal at the 2026 European Championships in Birmingham, England, with a throw of 82.97 metres.

Statistics Personal bests Event Mark Place Competition Venue Date Ref Javelin throw 84.05 m Italian Athletics Clubs Championships Bergamo, Italy 10 June 2023 Javelin throw (700 g) 77.15 m Jānis Lūsis Cup Jelgava, Latvia 14 June 2015 Shot put 15.34 m Valmiera Open Valmiera, Latvia 21 January 2023