Visvaldis Melderis
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 19 January 1915 USSR | |||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Latvian | |||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1930s–1943 | |||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | |||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rīgas ASK | ||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Visvaldis Melderis (19 January 1915 – 14 July 1944) was a Latvian basketball player. Melderis won a gold medal at the
1937 EuroBasket and EuroBasket 1939
.
Career
Visvaldis Melderis was born on 19 January 1915 in
Nazi occupation and became Latvian champion for the third time in 1942 playing for RDKA team.[1] Overall he played 40 games in the national basketball team. He also tried other sports like football and track and field. In the Latvian track and field championship in 1934 he won bronze medal in Shot put.[2]
As a former corporal of Latvian Army Melderis was conscripted into Latvian Legion in 1943 and deployed to Eastern front as a part of the 19th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Latvian). He took part in many battles and was killed in action during defensive battles near Latvian border around Opochka, Pskov Oblast.[3]
References
- ^ "Visvaldis Melderis « Latvijas olimpieši". Archived from the original on 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2017-11-16.
- ISBN 9984-05-187-0.
- ^ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
