Lithuania competed at the
2016 Summer Olympics in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's seventh consecutive appearance at the Games in the post-Soviet era and ninth overall in Summer Olympic history.
The
National Olympic Committee of Lithuania
The Lithuanian National Olympic Committee ( lt, Lietuvos tautinis olimpinis komitetas, ''LTOK'') is the National Olympic Committee representing Lithuania.
History
Lithuania's national Olympic committee was established and recognized in 1924. ...
( lt, Lietuvos tautinis olimpinis komitetas, LTOK) fielded a team of 67 athletes, 48 men and 19 women, across 15 sports at the Games. It was the nation's second-largest delegation sent to the Olympics, just four athletes short of the record achieved in
Beijing 2008
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
(71). As usual, the
men's basketball was the only team-based sport in which Lithuania qualified for the Games. Lithuania marked its Olympic debut in tennis and women's judo, as well as its return to weightlifting after missing out of the previous Games.
The Lithuanian squad featured three Olympic medalists from
London 2012
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, namely light welterweight boxer
Evaldas Petrauskas
Evaldas Petrauskas (born 19 March 1992 in Šilutė, Lithuania) is a Lithuanian boxer. He represented Lithuania at 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and won a gold medal.
At the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships he lost to Jai Bhagwan (IND).
He w ...
, breaststroke swimmer and world record holder
Rūta Meilutytė
Rūta Meilutytė (; born 19 March 1997) is a Lithuanian swimmer. An Olympic gold medalist, she is a world record holder in the short course 50 metre breaststroke and 100 metre breaststroke. She is a former world record holder in the long cour ...
, and defending champion
Laura Asadauskaitė
Laura Asadauskaitė-Zadneprovskienė (born 28 February 1984 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian modern pentathlete. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and achieved an Olympic record score. Asadauskaitė also competed in three ...
in the women's modern pentathlon. Track cyclist
Simona Krupeckaitė
Simona Krupeckaitė (born 13 December 1982) is a Lithuanian former professional track cyclist. She is the 2009 500 m Time Trial World Champion and World Record holder at 33.296s, and the 2010 Keirin World Champion. She also won the 2009, 2010 ...
topped the list of experienced Lithuanian athletes to make her fourth Olympic appearance, while Laser Radial sailor and Beijing 2008 silver medalist
Gintarė Scheidt was selected to lead the Lithuanian delegation as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony at her third Games, a historic first by a female in the nation's Olympic history.
[ Other notable Lithuanian athletes included NBA players ]Jonas Valančiūnas
Jonas Valančiūnas ( ; ; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 ...
and Domantas Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis (; born May 3, 1996) is a Lithuanian-American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a two-time NBA All-Star.
Sabonis started his career in Spain with Unicaj ...
(son of basketball legend and three-time Olympian Arvydas Sabonis
Arvydas Romas Sabonis (; born December 19, 1964) is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player and businessman. Recognized as one of the best European players of all time, he won the Euroscar six times and the Mr. Europa Award twice. He p ...
), multiple-time European rowing medalist Mindaugas Griškonis, and swimming stalwarts Simonas Bilis
Simonas Bilis (born 11 November 1993) is a Lithuanian swimmer. He is the current national record holder in the 50-meter, 100-meter freestyle (long course) and 50-meter, 100-meter freestyle (short course).
Bilis represented Lithuania at the 2015 ...
and Giedrius Titenis
Giedrius Titenis (born 21 July 1989) is a Lithuanian swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He is a four-time Olympian, a multiple-time Lithuanian record holder in the men's breaststroke, and a double swimming champion in the same discip ...
.
Lithuania left Rio de Janeiro with four medals (one silver and three bronze), failing to collect a gold for the third time in its Olympic history. Three of these medals were awarded to the Lithuanian team in weightlifting and rowing for the first time in 16 years, including a silver-medal feat from Griskonis and his new partner Saulius Ritter
Saulius Ritter (born 23 August 1988) is a Lithuanian rower, best known for winning a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the 2011 European Rowing Championships.
He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the men's doubl ...
in the men's double sculls. Meanwhile, Aurimas Lankas and Edvinas Ramanauskas continued to add canoeing medals for Lithuania with a bronze in the men's K-2 200 m, following Jevgenijus Šuklinas' runner-up finish at London 2012
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
. Once again, the men's basketball squad failed to reach the medal rounds for the second straight time, losing to Australia in the quarterfinals.
Medalists
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Competitors
Athletics
Lithuanian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):
;Track & road events
;Men
;Women
;Field events
Basketball
Men's tournament
The Lithuanian men's basketball team qualified for the Olympics by attaining a top two finish after the final match of the EuroBasket 2015
EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 S ...
in France.
;Team roster
;Group play
----
----
----
----
----
;Quarterfinal
Boxing
Lithuania has entered two boxers to compete in each of the following weight classes into the Olympic boxing tournament. London 2012 bronze medalist Evaldas Petrauskas
Evaldas Petrauskas (born 19 March 1992 in Šilutė, Lithuania) is a Lithuanian boxer. He represented Lithuania at 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and won a gold medal.
At the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships he lost to Jai Bhagwan (IND).
He w ...
and European champion Eimantas Stanionis
Eimantas Stanionis (born 17 August 1994) is a Lithuanian professional boxer who has held the WBA (Regular) welterweight title since April 2022. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2015 European Championships in the welterweight bracket.
...
had claimed their Olympic spots at the 2016 European Qualification Tournament in Samsun
Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun recorded a population of 710,000 people. The cit ...
, Turkey.
Canoeing
Sprint
Lithuanian canoeists have qualified a total of four boats in each of the following distances for the Games through the 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships
The 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, the 41st edition of the World Championships, were held from 19–23 August 2015 in Milan, Italy.
Explanation of events
Canoe sprint competitions are broken up into Canadian canoe
A canoe is a l ...
. The sprint canoeing roster was named to the Olympic squad at the conclusion of the 2016 European Sprint Qualifier in Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...
, Germany.
Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)
Cycling
Road
Lithuanian riders qualified for a maximum of two quota places in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of their top 15 final national ranking in the 2015 UCI Europe Tour
The 2015 UCI Europe Tour was the eleventh season of the UCI Europe Tour. The 2015 season began on 29 January 2015 with the Vuelta a Mallorca, Trofeo Santanyí-Ses Salines-Campos and ended on 25 October 2015 with the Tour of Aegean.
The points le ...
. One additional spot was awarded to the Lithuanian cyclist in the women's road race by virtue of her top 100 individual placement in the 2016 UCI World Rankings.
Track
Following the completion of the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Lithuania has entered one rider to compete only in both women's sprint and keirin at the Olympics, by virtue of her final individual UCI Olympic rankings in those events.
;Sprint
;Keirin
Gymnastics
Artistic
Lithuania has entered one artistic gymnast into the Olympic competition. Robert Tvorogal
Robert Tvorogal (born 5 October 1994) is a Lithuanian artistic gymnast. He is the 2019 European Games champion on the horizontal bar. He became the first Lithuanian to win a gold medal at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships when he won ...
had claimed his Olympic spot in the men's apparatus and all-around events at the Olympic Test Event in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
.
;Men
Judo
Lithuania has qualified one judoka for the women's heavyweight category (+78 kg) at the Games. Santa Pakenytė earned a continental quota spot from the European region as the highest-ranked Lithuanian judoka in the IJF World Ranking List of 30 May 2016.
Modern pentathlon
Lithuania has qualified three modern pentathletes for the following events at the Games. Reigning London 2012 champion Laura Asadauskaitė
Laura Asadauskaitė-Zadneprovskienė (born 28 February 1984 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian modern pentathlete. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and achieved an Olympic record score. Asadauskaitė also competed in three ...
sought an opportunity to defend her Olympic title in the women's event, after being crowned the 2015 UIPM World Cup champion in Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, Belarus. Meanwhile, Justinas Kinderis and Ieva Serapinaitė were ranked among the top 10 modern pentathletes, not yet qualified, in their respective events based on the UIPM World Rankings as of 1 June 2016.
Rowing
Lithuania has qualified a total of five boats for each of the following classes into the Olympic regatta. Rowers competing in the single and double sculls (both men and women), as well as the men's quadruple sculls, had confirmed Olympic places for their boats at the 2015 FISA World Championships in Lac d'Aiguebelette
Lac d'Aiguebelette is a natural lake in the commune of Aiguebelette-le-Lac, within the department of Savoie, France.
Geography
Description
With a surface area of 5.45 km2 and a depth of 71 meters it is one of the largest natural lakes of F ...
, France.
;Men
;Women
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage
Sailing
Lithuanian sailors have qualified one boat in each of the following classes through the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships
The 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships, was held in Santander, Spain, this was the fourth edition of the ISAF Sailing World Championships. It is the world championships for all disciplines used at the upcoming Olympics. What gives this event ...
, the individual fleet Worlds, and European qualifying regattas.
M = Medal race; DNF = Did not finish; UFD = "U" flag disqualification; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race;
Shooting
Lithuania has received an invitation from ISSF to send Ronaldas Račinskas in the men's skeet to the Olympics, as long as the minimum qualifying score (MQS) was fulfilled by 31 March 2016.
Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)
Swimming
Lithuanian swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):
;Men
;Women
Tennis
Lithuania has entered one tennis player for the first time into the Olympic tournament. Ričardas Berankis
Ričardas Berankis (; born June 21, 1990) is a Lithuanian professional tennis player. He is the first and only Lithuanian citizen (not counting Lithuanian American Vitas Gerulaitis) to enter the ATP top 50 rankings, making him the highest ran ...
(world no. 54) qualified directly for the men's singles as one of the top 56 eligible players in the ATP World Rankings as of 6 June 2016.
Weightlifting
Lithuania has qualified one male weightlifter for the Olympics by virtue of his top 15 individual finish, among those who had not secured any quota places through the World or European Championships, in the IWF World Rankings as of 20 June 2016, signifying the nation's return to the sport after an eight-year hiatus. The place was awarded to rookie Aurimas Didžbalis
Aurimas Didžbalis (born 13 June 1991) is a Lithuanian Olympian weightlifter. He competes in the 94 kg class.[initial
In a written or published work, an initial capital, also referred to as a drop capital or simply an initial cap, initial, initcapital, initcap or init or a drop cap or drop, is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph that ...]
meet of the World Qualification Tournament in Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
.
;Men's Greco-Roman
See also
* Lithuania at the 2016 Summer Paralympics
References
External links
*
{{Country at games navbox, Lithuania, Olympics
Olympics
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
Nations at the 2016 Summer Olympics