Latvia's young professionals complete three intense competition days in Shanghai
Four young Latvians have completed three of four competition days at the WorldSkills 2026 championship in Shanghai. Final results will be announced on September 27.
Shanghai is hosting WorldSkills 2026, a global championship for young professionals featuring nearly 1,400 participants from more than 70 countries and regions competing across 64 skill disciplines. Latvia is represented by four young specialists: Elizabete Ancvere in graphic design technology, Fjodors Ņekazakovs in cooking, Mona Gabriela Gorsvāne in restaurant service, and Krišjānis Klāvs Kantāns in web technologies.
Unlike sports competitions, WorldSkills has no qualifying rounds or eliminations — all competitors work in parallel over four days on tasks assessed against detailed international standards. Some task details are revealed only shortly before work begins, requiring quick adaptation rather than rehearsed routines.
Fatigue and experience
After the third day, the young competitors acknowledged growing fatigue. Ņekazakovs described working seven hours — his longest day so far — while remaining largely satisfied with his performance. Gorsvāne spoke of the emotional intensity but said she is trying to enjoy the experience, since this is her last major professional skills competition.
Team leader Jānis Veinbergs is responsible for the team's daily wellbeing, noting that competitors cope with stress in different ways, and that the team worked with a sports psychologist during preparation. Latvian experts are also present in Shanghai, serving as international judges during the event, including chef Nils Ģēvele, lecturer Ivs Zenne, and programmer Valdis Aglonietis. Jānis Vītols serves as Chief Expert in the heavy vehicle technology category.
The Latvian team's final competition day is set for September 26, with results and medal winners to be announced at a closing ceremony on September 27.
