Jānis Deisons – Latvello

Section “Athlete’s Diary” – #1
Jānis Deisons – speed skater, cyclist, and holder of numerous records!

To provide more comprehensive information about Jānis, this section will feature a detailed overview of his sporting achievements, as well as some of the most interesting photographs, which Jānis himself donated to us a few years ago. In addition, we will publish an interview in which he shares his memories and experiences gained while developing his skills in speed skating and cycling.

Jānis Deisons:
“A strange turn of events. I stepped onto speed skates for the first time at the VEF stadium, because I had to replace a colleague who had fallen ill. In the 500-metre race I competed under a different surname (ugh, Deison!) and convincingly beat everyone — I think it was 53 seconds and some fractions. Back then the number of participants was overwhelming — impossible to forget when compared to today’s absolute vacuum! Spartaks’ coach at the time, Artūrs Vēveris, was present, and seeing how fast I had raced, he took me into the team.”

“There are very few people in Latvia who started their sporting careers with speed skating. I couldn’t refuse the invitation to stand under the Spartaks banner. The ‘knives’ (skates) given to me by Aleksandrs Tabaks (Latvian speed skater) really cut — in one leap I made it into the core lineup of the team and soon travelled to my first competitions outside the republic, to Kirov.”

“These competitions were held in a different city every year. In those days, when speed skating was flourishing in Latvia, Deisons was also in full swing. What can I say — for a while I even held the republic record in the 500 m distance. I was a fairly strong all-rounder, and twice (in 1953–1954) I won the overall title based on four distances.”

How did the iron-willed Spartaks athlete become a Dinamo rider?
“In 1952, as a young Spartaks lad, I had to put on army boots. I became a Dinamo athlete, first spending three months in the Lithuanian town of Mariampolė learning border guard skills. I returned to Riga, and from then on military matters no longer interfered with me, as I was considered a promising athlete.”

Who and how drew you into track cycling?
“The main thing was an invitation I read in the newspaper… I went to Marss, where the ‘playing’ coach Vitolds Sāvičs was already there. He asked if I wanted to train as a track cyclist. I nodded in agreement and was handed a circus unicycle — one wheel, two pedals, and a seat on quite a high ‘stem’. If I mastered this horse, I would become a track cyclist. What choice did I have — within three days I became both an acrobat and a track rider.”

“It was known that the Helsinki Olympic Games programme would include tandem racing… for me and Harijs Japiņš. Incidentally, three Latvians were preparing for the Helsinki Games: Harijs and I on the track, and Alberts Džarcāns on the road. The coach said clearly and plainly: ‘Deison, you need to lose excess weight.’”

“I had no objections to staying at the top level for more than 13 years. I understood that I was needed as a sparring partner. They counted on me. It even turned out that as I was approaching the end of my sporting career, Imants Bodnieks was rising. I felt no jealousy — I helped him with tactics. What mattered to me was that track sprinting in Latvia would continue even after me.”

Author: G. Ķīsis