Latvian sportsman Roberts Plūme won multiple national titles in track cycling and cross-country skiing before becoming a noted sports administrator. Plūme was a true all-round athlete who also competed in rowing, speed skating, basketball, boxing, fencing, and swimming. In his early career he was a two-time champion on Russia in cycling on the track, winning the sprint title in 1915 and 1916. In 1922 he became the Latvian triple jump champion and the Latvian cycling sprint champion, retaining the latter title for the next two years. On the snow he won three cross-country titles across 5, 10, and 30 km, all in 1923.
Plūme’s performances earned him a place on the Latvian Olympic team for both the Summer and Winter Games that were held in 1924. In cycling he finished seventh with the national team in the 4,000 metres team pursuit at the 1924 Paris Games, with him also competing in the individual sprint. At the 1924 Chamonix Olympics he skied in both the 18 and 50 kilometres but did not finish in either. Plūme also had the honour of being Latvia’s flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony in Chamonix. Four years later he returned to the velodrome at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics where he rode in the individual sprint.
During the 1920s and 1930s Plūme was also very active in sports management, serving with multiple organisations. In addition to founding the Latvian Winter Sports Union, he served as the chair of the Latvian Basketball Association (1925–35) and the President of the Latvian Olympic Committee (1933–34). After World War II he emigrated to Canada where he worked as a farmer but remained active in the Latvian sporting community in and around the Toronto area.
Latvia