Kristaps Janičenoks: “There is a huge responsibility for myself and Latvian basketball fans.”

I have very pleasant emotions and at the same time I feel a huge responsibility for myself and Latvian basketball fans and definitely there will be tons of them. Event is unique and never held in Latvia before, all players are waiting for it and preparing with huge yield and concentration.

Group raffle was very successful. How do you evaluate chances of the Latvian team and what will be the goals of the team?

Of course, “on the paper” group looks weaker than the rest but for quite long period of time in Europe everyone knows how to play basketball therefore I truly hope that we will manage to adequately evaluate our competitors and too huge self-confidence will not harm us. Our first aim is to get out of the group. We will concentrate on that!

Lately we frequently hear the word – Rio! In your opinion, is it possible in real life?

To me it sounds too loud! – Let’s just start with the successful first game against Belgium!

Unfortunately preparation is not without injuries. Also you had to skip some test games. – Let’s hope that there will be no consequences to those injuries?

No, fortunately those were some days to take rest.

What is the situation with other candidates of the team? Is everybody more or less healthy and ready for the tournament?

There are micro injuries, of course, you can’t deal without them. In the beginning some players dropped out due to some more serious injuries but currently everything is within norm.

Your carrier has been very successful – in September you had already the fourth final tournament. Accordingly to your observations, what are the most common injuries for basketball players?

I will make it more precisely; this will be my fifth tournament! – As to the most common injuries they vary accordingly to each player but the most frequent ones are injuries of ankles, knees or back.

Do you had to use some special products for athletes – compression socks, orthosis or insoles – to prevent injuries?

Yes, to reduce risk of traumas and load to the legs both during the workouts and during games I like to wear compression socks. They are very comfortable – they stimulate activity of muscles, reduce tiredness in legs and help to fixate the foot, protects the Achilles tendon area.

In your long career you probably have tried socks of several brands. Which do you prefer currently?

My discovery is socks from the German brand Bauerfeind! They create sufficient compression on my legs and improve blood circulation. I like that these socks have anatomically adjusted shape and effectively amortising areas. Besides I also like the design.

Kristaps, did you know that almost 400 Olympic players from 54 countries (88 countries participated) used exactly Bauerfeind products also during the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014 and during the preparation period for the games?

I have heard of that and I am not surprised – to have a great start and achieve the maximum result athletes have to be in excellent physical shape, therefore injuries should be reduced up to minimum.

What would you recommend to the new athletes as the best methods for taking care of health and reducing of injuries in your kind of sports?

First of all, when you are young you have to engage in different kinds of sports. Body has to be universal! Later you need to pay attention to correct nutrition, stretching exercises and most importantly but to my mind the most difficult task is to do and follow the same things every day for many years. To be more precise, there have to be thought-out schedule and methods.

I would like to wish you and the whole Latvian team to reach your desired aim – get a pass to Rio Olympic Games!