Lithuania at the 2022 Winter Olympics

Lithuania at the 2022 Winter Olympics
Flag of Lithuania
IOC code	LTU
NOC	Lithuanian National Olympic Committee
Website	www.ltok.lt
in Beijing, China 4–20 February 2022
Competitors	13 (8 men and 5 women) in 4 sports
Flag bearers (opening)	Deividas Kizala Paulina Ramanauskaitė
Flag bearer (closing)	Modestas Vaiciulis
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)
1928 1932–1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Other related appearances
Soviet Union (1956–1988)

Lithuania competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, from 4 to 20 February 2022. ^{[1] [2]}

The Lithuanian team consisted of 13 athletes (eight men and five women) competing in four sports, the largest ever team Lithuania has sent to a Winter Olympics. ^[3] Ice dancers Deividas Kizala and Paulina Ramanauskaitė were the country's flagbearer during the opening ceremony. ^[4] Meanwhile cross-country skier Modestas Vaiciulis was the flagbearer during the closing ceremony. ^[5]

Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors participating at the Games per sport/discipline.

Sport	Men	Women	Total
Alpine skiing	1	1	2
Biathlon	4	1	5
Cross-country skiing	2	2	4
Figure skating	1	1	2
Total	8	5	13

Calls for Olympic boycott

On 19 November 2021, members of the Lithuanian national parliament Seimas released an official letter encouraging Lithuania to withdrawal from the 2022 Olympics due to human rights violations in China. ^[6] This came to light during the China–Lithuania relations crisis, after the Republic of China (Taipei or Taiwan) opened its representative office in Vilnius under the name of "Taiwan" (the first under this name in Europe) in August 2021. In response, the People's Republic of China recalled its ambassador in Vilnius, Shen Zhifei, and demanded that Lithuania recall its ambassador in Beijing, Diana Mickevičienė. ^[7]

Trade between the two countries was seriously disrupted. ^[8] Relations between the PRC and Lithuania were downgraded to the level of chargé d'affaires on 21 November 2021. ^{[9] [10]}

Daina Gudzinevičiūtė, president of the Lithuanian National Olympic Committee, released a statement that the Olympic Games should be politically neutral and confirmed that committee had no plans to boycott the games. ^{[11] [12]}

On 3 December 2021, Lithuania was the first nation to announce a diplomatic boycott of the games. ^[13]

Alpine skiing

Main articles: Alpine skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics and Alpine skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Qualification

By meeting the basic qualification standards Lithuania qualified one male and one female alpine skier. ^[14]

Athlete	Event	Run 1		Run 2		Total
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Andrej Drukarov	Men's giant slalom	1:05.78	20	DNF
	Men's slalom	DNS		Did not advance
Gabija Šinkūnaitė	Women's slalom	DNF		Did not advance

Biathlon

Main articles: Biathlon at the 2022 Winter Olympics and Biathlon at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Based on their Nations Cup ranking in the 2021–22 Biathlon World Cup, Lithuania qualified 4 men. ^[15]

Athlete	Event	Time	Misses	Rank
Tomas Kaukėnas	Men's sprint	27:27.9	2 (1+1)	80
	Men's individual	56:30.0	5 (1+0+2+2)	70
Vytautas Strolia	Men's sprint	26:22.4	2 (1+1)	43
	Men's individual	52:10.4	1 (0+0+0+1)	21
	Men's pursuit	48:47.8	10 (2+3+1+4)	58
Linas Banys	Men's sprint	28:05.8	3 (1+2)	90
	Men's individual	57:46.2	3 (1+1+0+1)	79
Karol Dombrovski	Men's sprint	27:11.2	1 (0+1)	73
	Men's individual	56:30.1	4 (0+1+0+3)	71
Gabrielė Leščinskaitė	Women's sprint	23:37.1	0 (0+0)	63
	Women's individual	51:39.2	4 (1+1+0+2)	61
Karol Dombrovski Linas Banys Tomas Kaukėnas Vytautas Strolia	Men's team relay	1:25:37.8	0+11	14

Cross-country skiing

Main articles: Cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics and Cross-country skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Lithuania has qualified the basic quotas in men's and women's events. ^[16]

Distance

Athlete	Event	Total
		Time	Deficit	Rank
Tautvydas Strolia	Men's 15 km classical	46:53.1	+8:58.3	83
Eglė Savickaitė	Women's 10 km classical	38:26.5	+10:20.2	89
Ieva Dainytė		39:07.4	+11:01.1	91

Sprint

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Tautvydas Strolia	Men's sprint	3:06.76	68	Did not advance
Modestas Vaičiulis		3:01.28	49	Did not advance
Eglė Savickaitė	Women's sprint	4:03.60	82	Did not advance
Ieva Dainytė		4:10.99	86	Did not advance
Tautvydas Strolia Modestas Vaičiulis	Men's team sprint	—				22:17.79	12	Did not advance	24
Eglė Savickaitė Ieva Dainytė	Women's team sprint	—				LAP	14	Did not advance	=23

Figure skating

Main article: Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics

In the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Lithuania secured one quota in the ice dance competition. ^[17] Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius were originally announced to represent Lithuania in the Winter Olympics; however, American-born Reed's application for Lithuanian citizenship was denied, and the pair was subsequently replaced by Paulina Ramanauskaitė and Deividas Kizala. ^[18]

Athlete	Event	OD		FD		Total
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Paulina Ramanauskaitė Deividas Kizala	Ice dancing	58.35	23	Did not advance

References

1. "NOCs List Beijing 2022". www.olympics.com/. International Olympic Committee . Retrieved 26 January 2022.
2. "Which countries are competing in the Winter Olympics 2022? Full list". The Independent . London, United Kingdom. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
3. Suslavičius, Rokas (16 January 2022). "Žiemos olimpinės rinktinės paveikslas: rekordinė dalyvių gausa, didžiausios viltys ir likę nežinomieji" [Picture of the Winter Olympic team: record number of participants, highest hopes and remaining unknowns]. www.lrt.lt/ (in Lithuanian). Lithuanian National Radio and Television . Retrieved 22 January 2022.
4. "Beijing-2022 Opening Ceremony Flag-Bearers". www.olympics.com/. International Olympic Committee (IOC). 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
5. "Beijing-2022 Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearers" (PDF). www.olympics.com/. International Olympic Committee (IOC). 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
6. "Grupė Lietuvos parlamentarų ragina boikotuoti Pekino žiemos olimpines žaidynes" (in Lithuanian). 19 November 2021. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 28 November 2021.
7. "China recalls envoy to Lithuania over Taiwan's move to open de facto embassy". South China Morning Post. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
8. Higgins, Andrew (2021-09-30). "Lithuania vs. China: A Baltic Minnow Defies a Rising Superpower". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-09-30.
9. Shirouzu, Norihiko; Sytas, Andrius (21 November 2021). "China downgrades diplomatic ties with Lithuania over Taiwan". Reuters. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
10. Ghosh, Sushmita (November 21, 2021). "China downgrades diplomatic ties with Lithuania over Taiwan de facto embassy". India Today. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
11. "LTOK pozicija dėl siūlymo sportininkams boikotuoti Pekino žiemos olimpines žaidynes". Lietuvos tautinis olimpinis komitetas (in Lithuanian). 23 November 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
12. "Po Seimo narių prašymo boikotuoti Pekino olimpinės žaidynes – griežtas LTOK atsakas" (in Lithuanian). 23 November 2021. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 28 November 2021.
13. "Lithuania confirms diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics". ANI News. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
14. "ALPINE SKIING QUOTAS LIST FOR OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES 2022". www.data.fis-ski.com/. International Ski Federation (FIS). 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
15. "Biatlonininkė Leščinskaitė IBU taurės varžybose pasiekė karjeros rekordą". www.delfi.lt. DELFI). 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
16. "CROSS-COUNTRY QUOTAS LIST FOR OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES 2022". www.data.fis-ski.com/. International Ski Federation (FIS). 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
17. Lietuvos šokių ant ledo pora iškovojo olimpinį kelialapį
18. • Suslavičius, Rokas (1 October 2021). "Lithuanian ice dancers may forgo Olympics after president rejects citizenship application". Lithuanian National Radio and Television .
    • "Prezidentūra tarė žodį – Allison Reed Lietuvos pilietybės negaus" [The presidency said that Allison Reed would not receive Lithuanian citizenship]. Lithuanian National Radio and Television (in Lithuanian). 3 January 2022.