Sport in Lithuania

Last updated

Olympic Glory Alley in Vilnius Olympic Glory Alley (Vilnius).jpg
Olympic Glory Alley in Vilnius

Sport in Lithuania is governed by the Physical Education and Sports Department following the country's independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. The Lithuanian government established the department to manage physical education in the schools and sports administration in the country. Over the next few years, Lithuanian sports organizations established (or re-established) membership in international governing bodies (including the International Olympic Committee). Lithuania participated in the Winter Olympics in Albertville and has participated in every Winter and Summer Olympics since.

Contents

There are nearly 80 Olympic and non-Olympic sports federations in Lithuania, and the Lithuanian Union of Sports Federations was founded in 1993 to unite them. An organization, "Sports for All", was established to promote physical education and a healthy lifestyle for all Lithuanians.

Among the most popular sports in Lithuania are basketball, football, athletics and cycling. Professional athletes and trainers are educated at the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education.

Major sports

Basketball

Basketball is the most popular and successful team sport in Lithuania. Luke Winn, a writer for the American magazine Sports Illustrated , said in an August 2011 story:

"Basketball is the only sport the 3.2 million Lithuanians truly care about—it is their second religion, after Catholicism—and their success is proportionately stunning." [1]

The Lithuanian national basketball team won the European basketball Championship in 1937, 1939 (when it was the host country) and 2003. They won silver medals in 1995, 2013 and 2015, bronze in 2007, and again hosted EuroBasket 2011. They were the bronze medal winners in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, which was one of the biggest underdog stories of the team, beating Spain, France, Argentina and Serbia in the bronze medal match while eventually being only defeated once, in the semifinal against Team USA.

In Olympic competition, Lithuania was the bronze medalist at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Summer Olympics. The team finished fourth in 2004 (although it defeated Team USA in the group stage, it then lost the bronze medal game against them) and 2008.

Lithuania's under-19 junior basketball team won the European Championship in 2003 and took second place at the World Championship that year. The U-17 team has won bronze in 2016 world championship. Its under-21 junior team won the 2005 World Championship in Argentina.

BC Žalgiris, based in Kaunas, is the most successful basketball club in Lithuania. The team won the Intercontinental Cup in 1986, EuroCup in 1998 and the EuroLeague in 1999. In 2018, the club after 19 years has reached the Euroleague Final Four again, reaching the 3rd place. Lietuvos rytas, in Vilnius, won the ULEB Cup (now known as the EuroCup) in 2005 and 2009, and was runner-up in 2007.

Euroleague match between BC Lietuvos rytas and Efes Pilsen LRytas.jpg
Euroleague match between BC Lietuvos rytas and Efes Pilsen

In the EuroLeague, Šarūnas Jasikevičius was a four-time EuroLeague winner and Arvydas Macijauskas, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Arvydas Sabonis were Euroleague MVPs. Several Lithuanian basketball players have played successfully in the NBA:

Previously Lithuania ranked fourth in the FIBA World Rankings and putting this in perspective, Luke Winn wrote that Lithuania was at the time

"...behind countries of 313 million (the U.S.), 47 million (Spain), 40 million (Argentina) and 11 million (Greece), and just ahead of countries of 79 million (Turkey) and 61 million (Italy). [1]

On 19 December 2022 Kaunas was announced as a host city for the 2023 EuroLeague Final Four, the first in Lithuania's sports history. [2]

Football

The Lithuanian national Football team reached its highest rating to date (number 37) in October 2008. From the beginning of the independent Lithuanian state (from 1919 until the Soviet occupation), "sport" was equivalent to "Football". Football players were the first athletes to participate in international competitions (notably, the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris and 1938 World Cup qualifying matches. During the period of Soviet occupation, Football remained popular because of FK Žalgiris success in the Soviet Union league and European tournaments. After independence, the national team was the closest to qualifying to a major tournament in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, reaching 3rd place in the group. At the club level, no team has yet reached the group stage of any major UEFA tournament (UCL or EL) although FK Žalgiris, FK Sūduva, FK Ekranas and FBK Kaunas were close to qualifying having reached the Europa League Play-off phase multiple times.

Lithuanian Football players who have been successful in major European Football leagues include:

The A Lyga ("A" League) is the top division in Lithuanian professional football. As in the rest of Europe, Lithuanians enjoy following the UEFA Champions League, the FIFA World Cup and other world-class Football tournaments.

Rugby

Lithuania national team versus Croatia national team Ragbi Hrvatska Litva 7. svibnja 2011.jpg
Lithuania national team versus Croatia national team

Rugby union was introduced in Lithuania during the 1960s, with teams in Kaunas and Vilnius. During last 20 years, the northern city of Šiauliai has become the capital of Lithuanian rugby, with the two strongest teams in Lithuania located there. The Šiauliai Vairas-Jupoja team are national champions, [3] and the Šiauliai BaltRex have been runners-up for the last 10 years (except 2006). [4] The Lithuanian national team competes in European rugby division 2A. World rugby star Laurynas Tipelis also plays for the Lithuanian national team, which holds a world record of 18 consecutive international wins. [5] The streak began in 2006 and ended in 2010, when Lithuania lost its World Cup qualifier to higher-ranked Ukraine.

Lithuania is ranked 39th in the IRB rankings. There are 13 rugby clubs in the country, with more than 1600 players (820 seniors). Rugby sevens is also popular; the Lithuanian rugby sevens national team is a successful participant in the European championships. The Lithuanian women's rugby sevens national team is progressing from the lower tiers of the European ranks.

Athletics

Lithuanian athletes have won 11 Olympic medals, [6] 7 at the World championships [7] and 14 at the European Championships. [8] The most successful Lithuanian athlete is discus thrower Virglijus Alekna, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion. Another Olympic gold-medal discus thrower is Romas Ubartas. In recent years, Lithuanian sprinters have been on the ascendancy. In 2010 two Lithuanian sprinters, Martynas Jurgilas and Rytis Sakalauskas, set new national records for the 100-metre dash. A top woman sprinter, Lina Grinčikaitė, won gold medals at the 2009 Summer Universiade and the 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships. Lithuania also has a tradition of excellence in distance events. The most successful distance runners in recent years have been Aleksandras Antipovas and Živilė Balčiūnaitė. In addition, women heptathletes have medalled at a high level.

Cycling

(L-R) Modesta Vzesniauskaite, Diana Ziliute and Jolanta Polikeviciute Lietuves0206 273.jpg
(L-R) Modesta Vžesniauskaitė, Diana Žiliūtė and Jolanta Polikevičiūtė

Lithuanian cyclists have achieved good results in prestigious cycling tours and the World Championships. The achievements of Lithuanian women cyclists are especially noteworthy. Lithuanian women made their mark on the international cycling scene beginning in 1991. Among the leaders were Zita Urbonaitė and Diana Čepelienė (who took third place in GC) in the Women's Challenge that summer.

Among the best Lithuanian cyclists were twin sisters Jolanta and Rasa Polikevičiūtė (2001 world road race champion), Edita Pučinskaitė (1999 world road race champion) and Diana Žiliūtė (1994 world junior road race champion, 1998 world road race champion and 2000 Olympic road race bronze medalist). There is a strong junior program in cycling for girls in Lithuania, culminating in an annual international race in Panevėžys. A number of young Lithuanian riders have emerged from this program (particularly Modesta Vžesniauskaitė, one of the top riders in the world).

Lithuania's women's track cycling team regularly wins medals at the world and European championships. In recent years, the most successful track cyclist has been Simona Krupeckaitė.

Other sports

Ieva Januskeviciute Ievaj GS tarnaby.jpg
Ieva Januškevičiūtė

Among other sports and pastimes, poker became an official sport in Lithuania on 20 March 2010. The Lithuanian Poker Federation was founded by well-known Lithuanian poker player Tony G. Lithuania's baseball team played a team from California's San Clemente Little League on 6 April 2010. The country is also a Federation of International Bandy member, [18] and planned to compete in the Bandy World Championship for the first time in 2011, [19] but has so far (2015) not taken part in the annual competition. Lithuania also has many well-known strongmen (the most successful of whom is Žydrūnas Savickas), and its modern pentathlon athletes have won medals at the Olympics and the World Championships.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithuanian Football Federation</span> Governing body for association football in Lithuania

The Lithuanian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Lithuania. The Federation is responsible for football development in the country and for the national teams, including the Lithuania national football team. It is based in Vilnius. LFF became a member of FIFA in 1923, but following Lithuania's annexation by the Soviet Union it was disbanded. It became a member again in 1992 after Lithuania regained its independence. The top division is A Lyga. When one French journalist saw a full basketball arena close to an empty stadium he published an article that Lithuania is a land where the beautiful game has to live in basketball's shadow.

Sportin Latvia includes basketball, football, ice hockey, athletics (track), rugby, tennis, cycling, and others. Ice hockey is the most popular of the Latvian sports and is closely followed by basketball. Some of Latvia's most notable athletes include hockey player Sandis Ozoliņš, football player Māris Verpakovskis, olympic javelin thrower Jānis Lūsis, two-time Olympic BMX champion Maris Strombergs, and basketball player Kristaps Porziņģis. The national sport of Latvia is ice hockey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lietuvos krepšinio lyga</span> Lithuanian mens basketball league

Lietuvos krepšinio lyga, also known as Betsafe LKL for sponsorship reasons, is the premier professional men's club basketball league in Lithuania. It is composed of 12 teams, and it is a member of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation. The best LKL clubs are also annual participants of the top European-wide basketball competitions, including the top-tier level EuroLeague.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Sweden</span> Overview of sports traditions and activities in Sweden

Sport is considered a national pastime in Sweden, and about half of the population actively takes part in sports activities. The most important all-embracing organisations for sports in Sweden are the Swedish Sports Confederation, and the Swedish Olympic Committee. In total over 2 million people are members of a sports club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rimas Kurtinaitis</span> Lithuanian basketball player and coach

Rimas Kurtinaitis is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach, and a retired professional basketball player, who was a member of the senior Soviet and Lithuanian national basketball teams during his playing career. He won a gold medal at 1988 Olympics in South Korea. He recently worked as the head coach for Khimki. At a height of 1.96 m (6'5") tall, during his playing career, he played at the shooting guard position. He is the only non-NBA player to ever participate at the NBA All-Star Weekend's Three-Point Contest, doing so in 1989, where he scored 9 points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giedrius Gustas</span> Lithuanian basketball player

Giedrius Gustas is a former Lithuanian professional basketball player. At the height of 1.90 m tall and a weight of 86 kg, he mainly played at the point guard position. During his club playing career, as a member of Žalgiris Kaunas, he won the EuroLeague championship in 1999. As a member of the Barons LMT, he won the Europe Cup championship in 2008. He was also a member of the senior Lithuanian national team, and with Lithuania, he won the gold medal at the 2003 EuroBasket and the bronze medal at the 2007 EuroBasket.

Sport is considered a national pastime in Finland and many Finns visit different sporting events regularly. Pesäpallo is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular forms of sport in terms of television viewers and media coverage are ice hockey and Formula One. In spectator attendance, harness racing comes right after ice hockey in popularity.

Sport in Spain in the second half of the 20th century has always been dominated by football. Other popular sport activities include padel, basketball, tennis, cycling, handball, American football, rally, motorcycling, judo, Formula One, water sports, rhythmic gymnastics, bullfighting, golf, and skiing.

Sport in France plays an important role in French society, which is reflected in its popularity among the French people and the nation's strong sporting history. Various types of sports are played and followed in France, notably cycling, football, and handball, which has earned France eight victories in world championships and five Olympic medals. France is also the three-time European champion of handball.

A wide array of sports are played in Armenia. Popular sports in Armenia include football, basketball, volleyball, and ice hockey. Further, the country sends athletes to the Olympics in boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, judo, gymnastics, track and field, diving, swimming, and shooting. Armenia's mountainous terrain provides great opportunities for the practice of sports like skiing and rock climbing. Being a landlocked country, water sports can only be practiced on lakes, notably Lake Sevan. Competitively, Armenia has been very successful at chess, weightlifting, and wrestling at the international level. Armenia is also an active member of the international sports community, with full membership in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Federation of International Bandy (FIB), International School Sport Federation, International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), among others. It also hosts the Pan-Armenian Games.

The Lithuania women's national basketball team represents Lithuania in international women's basketball competitions. They are regulated by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Lithuania.

Sport in Serbia includes football, basketball, handball, tennis, volleyball, and water polo. Professional sports in Serbia are organized by sporting federations and leagues. Serbian professional sports includes multi-sport clubs, biggest and most successful of which are Crvena Zvezda, Partizan, Radnički and Beograd in Belgrade, Vojvodina in Novi Sad, Radnički in Kragujevac, Spartak in Subotica. Serbia had successes in basketball, winning the Olympic silver medal and Nikola Jokic winning 2 NBA MVPs, as well as the 2023 NBA Championship and Finals MVP, Novak Djokovic winning a record setting 24th Grand Slam, and in handball, volleyball and water polo as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Europe</span> Overview of sports practised in Europe

Sport in Europe tends to be highly organized with many sports having professional leagues. The origins of many of the world's most popular sports today lie in the codification of many traditional games, especially in the United Kingdom. However, a paradoxical feature of European sport is the extent to which local, regional and national variations continue to exist, and even in some instances to predominate.

Sport in Croatia has significant role in Croatian culture, and many local sports clubs as well as the Croatian national squads enjoy strong followings in the country. The most enduring sport by far in Croatia is football, and is played on amateur and professional levels amongst all age groups across the entire country. Several other major team sports are handball, basketball and water polo, with clubs in all parts of Croatia. Ice hockey is another popular team sport, namely in the Croatian interior. The most popular individual sports in Croatia are tennis, alpine skiing, and swimming, and to some extent table tennis and chess. Various amateur sport games are popular in Croatia, notably picigin.

Sports in Portugal are important in Portuguese culture. High-profile, successful competitive athleticism and sportsmanship in Portugal can be traced back to the time of Ancient Rome. Gaius Appuleius Diocles was a noteworthy charioteer born in Lamego who became one of the most celebrated athletes in ancient history. He is often cited as the highest-paid athlete of all time. Football is the most popular sport in Portugal. Other than football, many other professional or semi-professional well organized sport competitions take place every season in Portugal, including basketball, swimming, athletics, tennis, gymnastics, futsal, rink hockey, team handball, volleyball, surfing, canoeing and rugby union championships among the hundreds of sports played in this country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Russia</span> Overview of sports traditions and activities in Russia

The most popular sport in Russia is soccer. According to Yandex search analysis results rating of the most popular sports among Russians: "Football topped the list of the most popular sports in Russia" with 5 to 10 million requests. Ice hockey came in second with handball, basketball, futsal, boxing, auto racing, volleyball, athletics, tennis, and chess rounding out the top ten rankings. Other popular sports include bandy, biathlon, figure skating, weightlifting, gymnastics, wrestling, martial arts, rugby union, and skiing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in the Czech Republic</span> Overview of sports traditions and activities in the Czech Republic

Sports play a significant part in the life of many Czechs who are generally loyal supporters of their favourite teams or individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steponas Babrauskas</span> Lithuanian basketball player

Steponas Babrauskas is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as assistant coach at BC Pieno žvaigždės.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darius Maskoliūnas</span> Lithuanian basketball player and coach

Darius Maskoliūnas is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach, former player, and politician.

Basketball is the most popular sport in Lithuania. Lithuanian American basketball coaches and players in the 1930s helped the Lithuania men's national basketball team win the last EuroBasket tournaments prior to World War II, in 1937 and 1939, causing a massive impact in Lithuanian society and a basketball popularity spike. Since then, despite Lithuania's small size, with a population of just almost 2.9 million, the country's devotion to basketball has made them a traditional force of the sport in Europe.

References

  1. 1 2 Winn, Luke (15 August 2011). "Lithuania Calling". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  2. ↑ "2023 and 2024 Final Fours awarded to Kaunas and Berlin". Euroleague Basketball . 19 December 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  3. ↑ Vairas-Jupoja website Archived 18 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine (in Lithuanian)
  4. ↑ BaltRex Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Lithuanian)
  5. ↑ "Lithuania beats Bok, NZ record". Sport24, 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
  6. ↑ llaf:olympics Archived 8 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ LLAF:WC Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ LLAF:Europe Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Lietuvos Orientavimosi Sporto Federacija (in Lithuanian)
  10. ↑ Kalnu Ereliai [ permanent dead link ](in Lithuanian)
  11. ↑ Lithuanian Winter Sports Center
  12. ↑ SNORAS Snowarena Archived 23 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Lietuvos Skraidančio Disko Federacija (in Lithuanian)
  14. ↑ "World Flying Disc Federation". Archived from the original on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  15. ↑ ltuswimming: Olympics
  16. ↑ Lietuvos Radijo Megeju Draugija
  17. ↑ "Continental Cup Finals start in Africa". FIVB . 22 June 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  18. ↑ Federation of International Bandy Archived 27 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2012-01-13.
  19. ↑ rusbandy.ru
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.