The Latvian Olympic Committee sent a total of 46 athletes to the Games, 32 men and 14 women, to compete in 12 sports.

Pistol shooter and Olympic gold medalist Afanasijs Kuzmins, the oldest of the team, at age 65, became the first Latvian athlete to compete in nine Olympic games (including three of his appearances under the Soviet Union), tying the record set by Austria's Hubert Raudaschl.

Meanwhile, Jeļena Rubļevska, who won silver in Athens, became the first female modern pentathlete to compete at four Olympics, since the sport's introduction to women in 2000.

Among the twelve sports played by the athletes, Latvia marked its Olympic debut in table tennis.

[2] Meanwhile, Mārtiņš Pļaviņš, who became Latvia's flag bearer at the opening ceremony, and his partner Jānis Šmēdiņš won the nation's first-ever Olympic medal in men's beach volleyball.