Lithuania at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Lithuania at the
2016 Summer Olympics
IOC codeLTU
NOCLithuanian National Olympic Committee
Websitewww.ltok.lt (in Lithuanian and English)
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors67 in 15 sports
Flag bearers Gintarė Scheidt[1] (opening)
Edvinas Ramanauskas (closing)
Medals
Ranked 64th
Gold
0
Silver
1
Bronze
3
Total
4
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
 Russian Empire (1908–1912)
 Soviet Union (1952–1988)

Lithuania competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, 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 (Lithuanian: Lietuvos tautinis olimpinis komitetas, LTOK) fielded a team of 67 athletes, 48 men and 19 women, across 15 sports at the Games.[2] It was the nation's second-largest delegation sent to the Olympics, just four athletes short of the record achieved in Beijing 2008 (71). As usual, the men's basketball was the only team-based sport in which Lithuania qualified for the Games.[3] 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, namely light welterweight boxer Evaldas Petrauskas, breaststroke swimmer and world record holder Rūta Meilutytė, and defending champion Laura Asadauskaitė in the women's modern pentathlon. Track cyclist Simona Krupeckaitė 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.[1][4] Other notable Lithuanian athletes included NBA players Jonas Valančiūnas and Domantas Sabonis (son of basketball legend and three-time Olympian Arvydas Sabonis), multiple-time European rowing medalist Mindaugas Griškonis, and swimming stalwarts Simonas Bilis and Giedrius Titenis.

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.[5] 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 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.[6] Once again, the men's basketball squad failed to reach the medal rounds for the second straight time, losing to Australia in the quarterfinals.[7]

  1. ^ a b "Olimpinių žaidynių atidaryme Lietuvos vėliavą nešianti Scheidt: turiu savo privalumų" [Scheidt's flag bearer role in the Olympic opening ceremony: has its advantages] (in Lithuanian). Alfa.lt. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  2. ^ Labinaitė, Aistė (22 July 2016). "Lietuvos sportininkai į Rio de Žaneirą išvyko įgyvendinti olimpinių svajonių" [Lithuanian athletes are seeking to fulfill their Olympic dream in Rio de Janeiro] (in Lithuanian). Vakarų ekspresas. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Lithuania gearing up for another Olympic summer". FIBA. 12 July 2016. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Rio 2016, more flag bearers for sailing than Beijing and London combined". International Sailing Federation. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Lietuva Rio de Žaneiro olimpinių žaidynių medalių lentelėje – 64-a" [Lithuania finished sixty-fourth in the medal table at the Rio Olympics] (in Lithuanian). Vakarų ekspresas. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  6. ^ ""Rio 2016": Aurimas Lankas ir Edvinas Ramanauskas iškovojo bronzą!" [Rio 2016: Aurimas Lankas and Edvinas Ramanauskas won the bronze] (in Lithuanian). 15 min. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Australia beat Lithuania to reach men's Olympic basketball semis". The Guardian. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.