On Thursday, our country’s sports stars walked the red carpet in Vilnius. The 2023 best athletes of Olympic and Paralympic sport were honoured at the prestigious Lithuanian Sports Awards ceremony.
“I want to congratulate all of you, not only those who will be awarded, but also all the nominees. We are celebrating many important anniversaries. It’s 35 years since the restoration of the National Olympic Committee of Lithuania; moreover, next year we will celebrate the centenary of the Olympic Movement; but what I think is particularly important and relevant these days is that our athletes are on the right side of history. They recognise principles and values.
I would like to pay tribute to the athletes by declaring that it is only you and your coaches who know how much effort you have put into it, how many mornings, evenings and days you have sacrificed in achieving the results that we all enjoy. I would also like to express my appreciation and respect to the coaches, whose dedication, knowledge and, above all, faith in their athletes make miracles happen.
And, of course, I would like to wish you that as we celebrate the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, you achieve many new victories, and at the same time you will serve as an inspiration to everyone,” President Gitanas Nausėda welcomed the audience.
Prezidentas Gitanas Nausėda.
This year’s awards also marked other important occasions for the Lithuanian Olympic community: we celebrated the 35th anniversary of the National Olympic Committee of Lithuania (LNOC) this year, and 2024 will not only see the Paris Olympics but also the centenary of the Olympic movement in Lithuania.
“This celebration is a rare opportunity to bring together the sports community and to express our gratitude for the work we have completed this year. We thank not only the athletes, but also all those who help achieve results and make Lithuania famous. Next year is an Olympic year, therefore I would like to wish us all more Olympic trips, and I wish the athletes patience, endurance and to stay healthy. By your example, you inspire people to follow the Olympic principles not only in sport but also in life,” LNOC President and Olympic champion Daina Gudzinevičiūtė said.
Mindaugas Bilius ir Daina Gudzinevičiūtė.
“The mission of the Paralympic Movement is to build an inclusive society through sport. Tonight we have gathered here to witness how a dream has turned into reality, with Paralympians and Olympians celebrating their victories together for several years in a row. I thank you for being together. I thank every athlete, coach, doctor, physiotherapist, assistant, administrator for all your work. Our victories have been forged by joint effort. I thank the partners and sponsors of Paralympic and all Lithuanian sports. Your contribution to Lithuania’s victories is fundamental,” said President of the Lithuanian Paralympic Committee Mindaugas Bilius.
A large sports community gathered at Litexpo events centre to congratulate the laureates: not only athletes, members of their teams, members of sports federations, but also representatives of education, science, culture, politicians, diplomats, representatives of the art world.
When congratulating the athletes on their victories achieved during the year, Minister of Education, Science and Sport Gintautas Jakštas thanked them and their coaches not only for the joy and pride one experiences as a result of their achievements, but also for the example they set to society. “Thank you for the joy, for the pride in your country that comes from your victories ‒ it makes us all feel bigger and stronger. It’s not just the victories, the medal collections, but also your example that matters: striving for more, dreaming bigger, going further, especially when it’s not easy or simple. A heartfelt thank you,” said the Minister.
A total of 11 awards were handed out at the event organised by the LNOC, the Lithuanian Paralympic Committee, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, 5 of which were awarded to Olympic and 5 to Paralympic sports laureates, as well as an exclusive Award for Lifetime Achievements. Both Olympic and Paralympic laureates were awarded in the categories of Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, Team of the Year, Coach of the Year and Breakthrough of the Year.
The gala evening was hosted by the experienced TV personalities Martynas Starkus and Vytaras Radzevičius. The event featured songs about sport that have already become history: the band SKAMP recalled their old song “Sport”, Vidas Bareikis performed his own version of the ŽAS song “We Shall Win!”, while the legendary pop singer Irena Ulvydaitė performed her song “The Ball is Flying” together with Dileta Meškaitė-Kisielienė. On this occasion, group B’Avarija returned to the grand stage with their famous song “Now or Never”. The performances were enhanced by aerial and street acrobats’ shows.
AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTS
This year’s Award for Lifetime Achievements was given to Angelė Rupšienė, a former basketball player and one of Lithuania’s mostly awarded female athletes. She won gold medals at the Montreal (1976) and Moscow (1980) Summer Olympics, also gold medals at three European and two World Championships. She also became the winner of the Kazimieras Motieka Foundation monetary prize established by the law firm Motieka & Audzevičius. The award to Ms. Rupšienė was handed in by LNOC President Daina Gudzinevičiūtė.
Daina Gudzinevičiūtė ir Angelė Rupšienė.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Rowing coach Virgaudas Leknickas has become the Olympic Sports Coach of the Year. The athletes Donata Karalienė and Dovilė Rimkutė, coached by Mr. Leknickas, have became world and European vice-champions and have earned a ticket to the Olympic Games. They will be accompanied to Paris by another pair coached by Virgaudas Leknickas: Ieva Adomavičiūtė and Kamilė Kralikaitė. The award was presented to the coach by actress and singer Inga Jankauskaitė.
Virgaudas Leknickas ir Inga Jankauskaitė.
Dainius Novickas, coach of the Lithuanian 3×3 basketball team, and Mantas Jusis, coach of the discus throwers Mykolas and Martynas Aleknos, were also nominated for the Coach of the Year award.
Deimantas Jusis earned the title of the best coach of the Paralympic Movement. At the Paris 2023 Para Athletics World Championships, the athletes coached by Mr. Jusis made up one third of the Lithuanian team – seven of his athletes represented the team. In Šiauliai, Mantas Jusis coaches several dozen athletes with disabilities. The award to Mr. Jusys was presented by conductor Vytautas Miškinis.
Deimantas Jusis ir Vytautas Miškinis.
The category of the Paralympic Sports Coach of the Year involved the following nominees: Klaidas Janeika, coach of the Lithuanian men’s goalball team, and Teresė Nekrošaitė from Kaunas, who coaches three athletes of the Paralympic team.
TEAM OF THE YEAR
The title of the Olympic Sports Team of the Year was awarded to the duo of rowers Donata Karalienė and Dovilė Rimkutė. The double scullers have twice won silver medals in the most important events of the year, becoming vice-champions at both the European and the World Championships. Moreover, the crew also won the ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics to represent Lithuania. The award was presented to the winners by Arnoldas Šileika, General Manager of Western Shipyard.
Dovilė Rimkutė, Donata Karalienė ir Arnoldas Šileika.
The Lithuanian women’s 3×3 basketball team (Kamilė Nacickaitė, Giedrė Labuckienė, Martyna Petrėnaitė and Gabrielė Šulskė) and the kayakers and canoers Simonas Maldonis, Mindaugas Maldonis, Ignas Navakauskas and Artūras Seja were also in the running for the Team of the Year Award.
The Lithuanian men’s goal ball team was awarded the title of the Paralympic Team of the Year; only a few days ago, the team brought home silver medals from the European Championships in Montenegro. The statuette Harnessed Wind was awarded on the stage to the team coached by Klaidas Janeika and Aurimas Skinulis, consisting of Nerijus Montvydas, Genrikas Pavliukianecas, Justas Pažarauskas, Mantas Brazauskis, Artūras Jonikaitis and Juozas Eigminas. The Paralympic Team of the Year was announced by the heads of the new patrons of the Lithuanian Paralympic Committee Laura Blaževičiūtė, CEO of TV3, and Gintas Butėnas, CEO of BITĖ Lietuva.
Lietuvos vyrų golbolo rinktinė.
Two other Paralympic sports teams – the Lithuanian men’s sitting volleyball team and the Lithuanian men’s wheelchair basketball team – were in the running for the Team of the Year Award.
BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR
Beach volleyball players Monika Paulikienė and Ainė Raupelytė won the title of the Breakthrough of the Year in Olympic sport. The volleyball duo finished 5th in the European Championships and recorded their first victories in the Lithuanian history at the World Championships. Monika and Ainė, who defeated two Japanese pairs, finished in a record 17th position in the final standings. The winner was announced by influencer Dovilė Filmanavičiūtė.
Monika Paulikienė ir Ainė Raupelytė.
Athlete Greta Karinauskaitė and rower Viktorija Senkutė were also among the nominees.
In the Breakthrough of the Year category, the statuette Harnessed Wind was awarded to Paralympic triathlete Ernestas Česonis. He won a bronze medal at 2023 World Triathlon Para Cup Paris. Ernestas was also successful at competitions at home, finishing third in the general sprint event of the Lithuanian Triathlon Cup, competing against athletes without disabilities. The winner was announced by the Minister of Education, Science and Sport Gintautas Jakštas.
Ernestas Česonis ir Gintautas Jakštas.
The Lithuanian men’s sitting volleyball team and Simonas Žvirblis, a young Paralympic swimmer from Kaunas, coached by Birutė Statkevičienė, were also in the running for the Paralympic Sports Breakthrough of the Year award.
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
For the second year in a row, athlete Mykolas Alekna became the Olympic Sports Athlete of the Year. The discus thrower won a bronze medal at the World Championships, became the European U23 champion, improving the record of this competition, and won the first Olympic ticket in his career. At the end of April, he threw the discuss as far as 71 m, achieving the 18th best result in the history of the event. President Gitanas Nausėda presented the award to the winner.
Mykolas Alekna ir Gitanas Nausėda.
The other candidates for the award were swimmer Danas Rapšys and track and field athlete Andrius Gudžius.
For the first time, the winter sports representative snowboarder Rapolas Micevičius became the Paralympic Movement’s Athlete of the Year. Rapolas, who is aiming for a place at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, won the European Cup and finished fifth in the snowboard cross event at the World Championships in Spain. The winner was announced by choreographer, teacher and dance instructor Andželika Cholina.
Rapolas Micevičius.
Two-time winner of the Athlete of the Year Award Paralympic team swimmer Edgaras Matakas, coached by Ramūnas Leonas, was also a nominee in this category, as well as Osvaldas Bareikis, a judo wrestler, coached by Algis Mečkovskis.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Dominika Banevič, a break dancer from the Olympic sport, was elected the Female Athlete of the Year. The promising 16-year-old Lithuanian Olympic athlete won both the World and European Championships this year and bronze at the European Games. Dominika, who has shaken the breakdancing world, has already secured a ticket to the Paris Olympics. She was awarded by singer Marijus Mikutavičius.
Dominika Banevič.
Pentathlete Laura Asadauskaitė-Zadneprovskienė and swimmer Rūta Meilutytė were also the nominees for the award.
Rūta Meilutytė.
Raimeda Bučinskytė was titled Paralympic Movement Female Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row. The shooter of the Lithuanian Paralympic team won a silver medal at this year’s European Para Championships in the Netherlands and earned Lithuania’s first ticket to the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games. Raimeda is the first shooter in Lithuania’s history to qualify for the Paralympic Games. She was awarded by the President of Lithuanian Paralympic Committee Mindaugas Bilius.
Raimeda Bučinskytė ir Mindaugas Bilius.
Two more Paralympic athletes were nominated in the category of the Female Athlete of the Year: last year’s winner of the statuette Harnessed Wind, discus thrower Oksana Dobrovolskaja, coached by Teresė Nekrošaitė, and marathon runner Aušra Garunkšnytė, coached by Jonas Žakaitis.
The nominees for the Olympic Sports Awards were announced in November and were selected by the Lithuanian Sports Awards Council, consisting of the representatives of the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, the National Olympic Committee of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Sports Journalists’ Federation, the Union of Lithuanian Sports Federations, the Association of Heads of Sports Departments of Lithuanian Municipalities, the Lithuanian Olympic Fund, and the LNOC Athletes’ Commission.
The Council’s vote accounted for 80% of the total, with the remaining 20% determined by the public vote. The Paralympic sports laureates were elected by the Executive Committee of the Lithuanian Paralympic Committee.