Agate Caune ( ; born 7 August 2004 in Valmiera, Latvia) is a Latvian track and field athlete. A multiple national champion, she is also the Latvian national record holder over 3000 metres. She was named the Rising Star of the Year and the female U20 Track and Field Athlete of the Year in 2022.

Biography

Early career Caune started out in 2019 as the Latvian U16 champion in the 1500 metres and 3000 metres events. Gradually, she became the 2020 Latvian U18 champion in the indoor and outdoor 3000 metres. During the following 2021 Latvian U18 Championships, she won gold in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. Additionally, she gained her first national title in the 5000 metres the same year.

2021 From Valmiera, Caune won the silver medal in the 5000m at the 2021 European Athletics U20 Championships in Tallinn, whilst just 16 years-old. She then went to the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi and finished fifth in the 3000m.

2022 She was the national champion in the 5000 metres for the second time, as well as the Latvian 10,000 metres champion in 2022. Throughout the year, she was declared the Latvian U20 champion for distances such as the: indoor 800 metres, indoor and outdoor 1500 metres, and outdoor 3000 metres.

Competing at the 2022 World U20 Championships, held in Cali, Colombia, she finished sixth in the 3000m final and ran 15:43.56 to win a silver medal in the 5000m (originally finished fourth behind Medina Eisa and Melknat Wudu, but Eisa and Wudu were later given a two-year ban for age falsification violations and stripped of their gold and silver medals).Dickinson, Marley. "World Athletics rejects five U20 world records due to age cheating" Canadian Running Magazine, March 5, 2026, accessed March 5, 2026 at https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/world-athletics-rejects-five-u20-world-records-due-to-age-cheating/ Caune ran 15:12.94 for the 5000m in Karlsruhe, Germany in May 2023.

2023 She remains the champion of the 2023 Latvian 10,000 metres. Currently, she has national titles in the outdoor 1500 metres and indoor 3000 metres. She received further awards at the 2023 Latvian U20 Championships when she won in categories like the indoor 800 metres and the indoor and outdoor 1500 metres.

At the 2023 European Indoor Championships held in Istanbul in March 2023, Caune qualified for the final, where she set a new Latvian U20 record for the 3000m, clocking 8:56.88 to finish in eleventh place.

In May 2023, Caune won a 5k event at the Riga Marathon, running it in 15:23 seconds, beating the Jeļena Prokopčuka best previous time from 2009, by seven seconds. Caune then won a gold medal in the 5000 meters at the 2023 European Team Games running 15:15.21 in the Second Division race.

On July 16, 2023, in Silesia, Caune made her Diamond League debut and finished in seventh place in the 3000m distance, running 8:39.78 to break the Latvian national record.

In August 2023, Caune won gold medals in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres at the 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships in Jerusalem. She set a new championship record of 15:03.38 in the 5000 metres. Caune subsequently went on to the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. She used a bold strategy—heading straight to the front of the pack and not slowing down as the distance between her and her competitors increased—that helped her advance to the next round of the 5000 metres. However, prior to the final event, Caune withdrew due to a pelvic injury that had been present from the past few days. Upon the recommendation of her doctors, she elected to miss the race and not risk worsening her condition if she were to run.

2024 She was selected to compete for Latvia at the 2024 Olympic 5000 meters in Paris. She ran in the first heat Aug. 2. The first eight finishers qualified for the second round. Caune finished 16th in her heat (and 33rd overall) in a time of 15:38.19.

Achievements Information from her World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

Personal bests 800 metres — 2:12.76 (Pärnu 2022) 800 metres indoor — 2:10.24 (Valmiera 2023) 1500 metres — 4:14.79 (Valmiera 2023) 1500 metres indoor — 4:17.01 (Valmiera 2023) 1000 metres indoor — 2:46.58 (Valmiera 2023) 2000 metres indoor — 5:55.29 (Valmiera 2023) 3000 metres — 8:39.78 (Chorzów 2023) 3000 metres indoor — 8:56.88 (Istanbul 2023) 5000 metres — 15:00.48 (Budapest 2023)

International competitions Representing 2021European Team Championships Second LeagueStara Zagora, Bulgaria4th3000 m9:38.23European U20 ChampionshipsTallinn, Estonia8th3000 m9:21.52 2nd5000 m16.17.56World U20 ChampionshipsNairobi, Kenya18th (h)1500 m4:37.495th3000 m9:45.262022World U20 ChampionshipsCali, Colombia6th3000 m9.25.922nd5000 m15:43.56 2023European Indoor ChampionshipsIstanbul, Turkey11th3000 m9:01.33European Team Championships Second DivisionChorzów, Poland1st5000 m15:15.21European U20 ChampionshipsJerusalem, Israel1st3000 m8:53.201st5000 m15:03.85World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary12th (h)5000 m15:00.482024European ChampionshipsRome, Italy16th5000 m15:28.04Olympic GamesParis, France33rd (h)5000 m15:38.192025European Indoor ChampionshipsApeldoorn, Netherlands22nd (h)3000 m9:22.00European Running ChampionshipsLeuven, Belgium21st10 km32:38European U23 ChampionshipsBergen, Norway9th5000 m16:17.247th10,000 m33:47.08

National titles Latvian Championships (5) 1500 metres: 2023 5000 metres: 2021, 2022 10000 metres: 2022, 2023 Latvian Indoor Championships (2) 3000 metres: 2022, 2023

See also List of Latvian records in athletics List of Baltic records in athletics European Athletics U20 Championships

References

External links