The Lithuanian squad featured returning Olympic medalists: discus thrower Virgilijus Alekna, trap shooter Daina Gudzinevičiūtė, and the men's basketball team, being led by team captain Saulius Štombergas, who later became the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[1][2] Along with Alekna, Stombergas, and Gudzineviciute, road cyclists and twin sisters Jolanta and Rasa Polikevičiūtė and javelin thrower Rita Ramanauskaitė made their third Olympic appearances as the most experienced members of the team. Other notable Lithuanian athletes included Stombergas' teammate and NBA basketball star Darius Songaila, track cyclist Simona Krupeckaitė, and two-time world champion Andrejus Zadneprovskis in men's modern pentathlon.
Lithuania left Athens with a total of three medals (one gold and two silver), the lowest in its Summer Olympic history since the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Discus thrower Alekna was originally placed in a silver medal spot, but eventually defended his Olympic title at the time of the medal ceremony, when Hungary's Róbert Fazekas committed an anti-doping violation for failing to submit a proper urine sample during the test, which ended up in a disqualification.[3] Meanwhile, heptathlete Austra Skujytė and modern pentathlete Zadneprovskis rounded out the Olympic podium with a silver medal each for the Lithuanian team.[4]
Lithuanian athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard).[5][6]
Virgilijus Alekna was originally placed in a silver medal position in the men's discus throw. A few days before the medal ceremony took place, Hungary's Róbert Fazekas committed an anti-doping violation by failing to submit a proper urine sample during the test, and was eventually expelled from the Games, lifting Alekna's position to a gold medal and more importantly, a defense for his Olympic title.[3][7]
Key
Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
Q = Qualified for the next round
q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
Lithuania sent two boxers to Athens. One lost his first bout, in the round of 32. The other won his first to advance to the quarterfinal, where he was defeated.
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; R=Repechage
Lithuanian swimmers earned qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the A-standard time, and 1 at the B-standard time): Vytautas Janušaitis became the first ever Lithuanian swimmer to reach an Olympic final in the men's 200 m individual medley, setting up a new Lithuanian record.[9]
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