Džems Raudziņš (1 December 1910 – 13 December 1979) was a Latvian basketball player. Raudziņš won a gold medal at the 1935 EuroBasket competition, becoming the first European champion. He participated also at the 1936 Summer Olympics and at the 1937 EuroBasket.[1]

Džems Raudziņš
Personal information
Born(1910-12-01)1 December 1910
Harbin, Manchuria
Died13 December 1979(1979-12-13) (aged 69)
Perth, Australia
NationalityLatvian
Career information
CollegeUniversity of Latvia
Playing career1920s–1940s
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Latvia
EuroBasket
Gold medal – first place 1935 Switzerland National Team

Career

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Raudziņš was born in Harbin, Manchuria where during the first half of the 20th century a notable Latvian community existed. After the First World War his family returned to Latvia. Raudziņš studied law at the University of Latvia and besides basketball worked at the Latvian Ministry of Interior in the 1930s.[2] Raudziņš played basketball since late 1920s. He played most of his career for the university team Universitātes Sports and became a five time Latvian champion (1930; 1934-1937). He also participated in 1933 International University Games where the Latvian team won the silver medal and in University games in 1935 where Latvia won gold.

Overall Raudziņš played eighteen games for the Latvian national team. In 1944, Raudziņš immigrated to Germany and later to Australia where he settled in Perth under the name James along with his wife Erna and 4 children, and worked as an accountant.[citation needed] He became the 1971 WA State Chess Champion.[3] He died in Perth on 13 December 1979. His daughter Ilze Raudziņš played basketball for the Western Australian team in the Australian championship.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ďžems Raudziņš". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Džems Raudziņš « Latvijas olimpieši". Olimpiade.lv (in Latvian). Latvian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Western Australian State Chess Champions". CAWA.org.au. Chess Association of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
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