Lithuania in the Olympic Festival

Lithuania’s delegation consisted of 64 athletes.

The Lithuanian basketball team became champions for the second time in a row. The team coached by Darius Dikčius included players Tauras Jogėla, Mantas Mockevičius, Martynas Paliukėnas, Ignas Ramašauskas, and others.

Swimmer Giedrė Grigonytė and judoka Žilvinas Lekavičius won silver.

High jumper Airinė Palšytė also had high hopes of winning a medal, but due to unexpectedly changed times of the finals the athlete did not manage to arrive at the stadium on time and missed the competition.

“I came to the festival as one of the prospective leaders but was forced to return home without a medal”, reflected the athlete on her negative experience from 10 years ago. “Now when I participate in competitions, every minute of my day is planned: we always double-check the start time of events, the time of arrival to the participant's rooms, the departure times, means of transportation, etc. I always ensure to arrange everything in advance so that there is no room for any coincidences. It is always better to come earlier instead of being late.”

In Tampere A. Palšytė also took part in an unusual for her event – the relay race.

“My experience in Tampere was very exciting, as I had an opportunity to participate in an additional event. At first, no one planned to run the relay, but at the time my two teammates were really good track and field athletes. Moreover, I was used to preparing for all the heptathlon events, therefore in addition to high jumping, I could run fast. After consulting the track and field athletics team manager we decided to participate in the relay event. Although only one out of four participants was a true representative of the sport, we almost reached the finals”, recalled A. Palšytė.