Lithuania at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Sporting event delegation

Lithuania at the
2018 Winter Olympics

Flag of Lithuania

IOC code| LTU
NOC| Lithuanian National Olympic Committee
Website| www.ltok.lt/en
in Pyeongchang, South Korea
9–25 February 2018
Competitors| 9 (5 men and 4 women) in 3 sports
Flag bearers | Tomas Kaukėnas (opening)
Andrej Drukarov (closing)
Medals|

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

Winter Olympics appearances (overview)

* 1928
* 1932–1988
* 1992
* 1994
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2010
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022
* 2026

Other related appearances
Soviet Union (1956–1988)

Lithuania participated at the 2018 Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang held between 9 and 25 February 2018. The country's participation in the Games marked its ninth appearance at the Winter Olympics after its debut in the 1928 Games. The Lithuanian team consisted of nine athletes who competed in three sports. Tomas Kaukėnas served as the country's flag-bearer during the opening ceremony and Andrej Drukarov was the flag-bearer during the closing ceremony. Lithuania did not win any medal in the Games, and has not won a Winter Olympics medal previously.

## Background

[edit]

The 1924 Summer Olympics marked Lithuania's first participation in the Olympic Games. The nation made its debut in the Winter Olympics at the 1928 Winter Olympics.[1] After its debut in 1928, the country did not participate in the Winter Games till the 1992 Games. The Lithuanian National Olympic Committee was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1991. The country's participation in the 2018 Games marked its ninth appearance at the Winter Olympics.[1]

The 2018 Winter Olympics was held in Pyeongchang held between 9 and 25 February 2018.[2][3] The Lithuanian delegation consisted of six athletes.[4][5] Tomas Kaukėnas served as the country's flag-bearer during the opening ceremony and Andrej Drukarov was the flag-bearer during the closing ceremony.[6][7] Lithuania did not win any medal in the Games, and has not won a Winter Olympics medal previously.[1]

## Competitors

[edit]

Lithuania sent nine athletes including four women who competed in three sports at the Games.[5][8]

Sport  | Men  | Women  | Total

|
|
|

Alpine skiing | 1 | 1 | 2
Biathlon | 2 | 2 | 4
Cross-country skiing | 2 | 1 | 3
Total | 5 | 4 | 9

## Alpine skiing

[edit]

Andrej Drukarov participated in the men's alpine skiing event

Main articles: Alpine skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics and Alpine skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Lithuania qualified one male and one female athlete for the alpine skiing events.[9] Andrej Drukarov made his debut at the Winter Games at the event. He had previously participated in the alpine skiing events at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics.[10] In the women's events, Ieva Januškevičiūtė participated in her second Winter Games.[11]

The Alpine skiing events were held at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre in Bukpyeong. The course for the events was designed by former Olympic champion Bernhard Russi. The weather was cold and windy during the events, and it was the coldest since the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer.[12] In the men's slalom event, Drukarov crossed the course in just over 59 seconds to be ranked 41st amongst the 106 competitors.[13] In the giant slalom event, he finished more than 17 seconds behind the leader Marcel Hirscher and was classified 59th amongst the 109 contestants.[14] In the women's slalom event, Januškevičiūtė crossed the course in just over 57 seconds to be ranked 43rd amongst the 78 competitors.[15] In the giant slalom event, she finished more than 26 seconds behind the leader Mikaela Shiffrin and was classified 43rd amongst the 79 contestants.[16]

Athlete  | Event  | Run 1  | Run 2  | Total

|
|
|
|

Time  | Rank  | Time  | Rank  | Time  | Rank
Andrej Drukarov | Men's giant slalom | 1:19.98  | 68  | 1:18.21  | 57  | 2:38.19  | 59
Men's slalom | 59.40  | 47  | 1:07.77  | 42  | 2:07.17  | 41
Ieva Januškevičiūtė | Women's giant slalom | 1:26.38  | 62  | 1:20.64  | 53  | 2:47.02  | 54
Women's slalom | 57.30  | 47  | 57.25  | 43  | 1:54.55  | 43

## Biathlon

[edit]

From top left to right: Tomas Kaukėnas, Vytautas Strolia, Diana Rasimovičiūtė, and Natalija Kočergina

Main articles: Biathlon at the 2018 Winter Olympics and Biathlon at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Biathlon competitions were held at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre from 10 to 23 February.[17] Based on their Nations Cup ranking in the 2016–17 Biathlon World Cup, Lithuania was allocated two qualifying slots each for men and women.[18][19] Four Lithuanian athletes participated across seven events in biathlon.[5] Amongst the men, both Tomas Kaukėnas and Vytautas Strolia were participating in their second straight Winter Games.[20][21] In the women's section, this was the fifth consecutive Olympic appearance for Diana Rasimovičiūtė, while Natalija Kočergina made her debut.[22][23]

The biathlon events consisted of a skiing a specific course multiple times depending on the length of the competition, with intermediate shooting at various positions. For every shot missed, a penalty of one minute is applied in individual events, and the participant is required to ski through a penalty loop in sprint events.[24][25] In the men's events, Kaukėnas registered the best finish of 13th amongst the 60 competitors in the men's pursuit.[26] In the women's events, Kočergina was the best placed woman skier for Lithuania after she was classified 30th in the women's individual event.[27]

Athlete  | Event  | Time  | Misses  | Rank

|
|
|
|

Tomas Kaukėnas | Men's sprint | 24:23.5  | 1 (0+1)  | 17
Men's pursuit | 34:31.8  | 2 (0+0+1+1)  | 13
Men's individual | 55:38.4  | 6 (0+2+1+3)  | 78
Men's mass start | 38:58.0  | 5 (2+0+2+1)  | 30
Vytautas Strolia | Men's sprint | 25:32.4  | 2 (1+1)  | 49
Men's pursuit | 37:47.3  | 4 (1+0+2+1)  | 43
Men's individual | 56:27.0  | 6 (0+2+1+3)  | 82
Diana Rasimovičiūtė | Women's sprint | 24:00.8  | 1 (1+0)  | 65
Women's individual | 49:53.3  | 5 (1+2+0+2)  | 75
Natalija Kočergina | Women's sprint | 25:16.2  | 5 (1+4)  | 80
Women's individual | 45:09.1  | 1 (0+0+1+0)  | 30
Natalija Kočergina
Diana Rasimovičiūtė
Tomas Kaukėnas
Vytautas Strolia | Mixed team relay | LAP | 8 (4+4)  | 19

## Cross-country skiing

[edit]

Marija Kaznačenko

Modestas Vaičiulis

Main articles: Cross-country skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics and Cross-country skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics – Qualification

As per the standards laid down by the International Ski Federation, athletes with a maximum of 300 points in the stipulated period were allowed to compete in the distance event. The same criteria was 120 points for the sprint events.[28] Lithuania qualified three athletes for the cross-country event.[29] This was the second Winter Olympics appearance for Mantas Strolia and Modestas Vaičiulis after their debut in the 2010 Winter Olympics.[30][31] In the women's category, Marija Kaznačenko made her debut at the Games.[32]

The main events were held at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Centre.[33] In the distance events, none of the athletes achieved a top 50 finish.[4] The best result came from Strolia in the men's 30 km skiathlon event.[4][34] In the sprint races, the team of Strolia and Vaičiulis failed to advance to the finals, and was ranked 24th amongst the 56 teams in the final classification.[35]

Distance
Athlete  | Event  | Classical  | Freestyle  | Total

|
|
|
|

Time  | Rank  | Time  | Rank  | Time  | Deficit  | Rank
Mantas Strolia | Men's 15 km freestyle | —  | 40:31.4  | +6:47.5  | 94
Men's 30 km skiathlon | 47:04.4  | 65  | LAP
Men's 50 km classical | —  | LAP
Modestas Vaičiulis | Men's 15 km freestyle | —  | 40:53.0  | +7:09.1  | 96
Marija Kaznačenko | Women's 10 km freestyle | —  | 30:44.2  | +5:43.7  | 73

Sprint
Athlete  | Event  | Qualification  | Quarterfinal  | Semifinal  | Final

|
|
|
|
|

Time  | Rank  | Time  | Rank  | Time  | Rank  | Time  | Rank
Mantas Strolia | Men's sprint | 3:31.11  | 64  | Did not advance
Modestas Vaičiulis | 3:21.10  | 44  | Did not advance
Mantas Strolia
Modestas Vaičiulis | Men's team sprint | —  | 17:41.73  | 12  | DNA | 24

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Lithuania at the Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
2. ^ "Pyeongchang 2018". Olympics.com. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
3. ^ "2018 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
4. ^ a b c "Lithuania at the 2018 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
5. ^ a b c "Lithuania at 2018 Winter Olympics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2001.
6. ^ "Flag bearers at the 2018 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
7. ^ "Opening Ceremony Flagbearers - Olympic Winter Games, PyeongChang 2018" (PDF). International Olympic Committee (IOC). 9 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
8. ^ "Pjongčango olimpines žiemos žaidynes vyks 9 Lietuvos sportininkai" [9 Lithuanian athletes will be in Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games]. Delfi (in Lithuanian). 19 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
9. ^ "Alpine Skiing Quota List for Olympic Games 2018". International Ski Federation (FIS). 5 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
10. ^ "Andrej Drukarov". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
11. ^ "Ieva Januškevičiūtė". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
12. ^ "Alpine skiing". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
13. ^ "Alpine skiing, slalom men". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
14. ^ "Alpine skiing, giant slalom men". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
15. ^ "Alpine skiing, slaom women". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
16. ^ "Alpine skiing, giant slalom women". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
17. ^ "Biathlon". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
18. ^ "Men's Nation Cup Score" (PDF). International Biathlon Union (IBU). 5 March 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
19. ^ "Women's Nation Cup Score" (PDF). International Biathlon Union (IBU). 5 March 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
20. ^ "Tomas Kaukėnas". Olympics.com. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
21. ^ "Vytautas Strolia". Olympics.com. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
22. ^ "Diana Rasimovičiūte". Olympics.com. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
23. ^ "Natalija Kočergina". Olympics.com. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
24. ^ "Biathlon, men's sprint". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
25. ^ "Biathlon, men's individual". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
26. ^ "Biathlon, men's pursuit". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
27. ^ "Biathlon, women's individual". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
28. ^ "Qualification Systems for XXIII Olympic Winter Games, PyeongChang" (PDF). International Ski Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
29. ^ "Cross-country Skiing Quota List for Olympic Games 2018". International Ski Federation (FIS). 20 December 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
30. ^ "Mantas Strolia". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
31. ^ "Modestas Vaičiulis". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
32. ^ "Marija Kaznačenko". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
33. ^ "15 kilometres (Freestyle), Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
34. ^ "Final Results - Men's" (PDF). International Ski Federation. 16 February 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 July 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
35. ^ "Men's sprint team". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 June 2024.

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Lithuania at the Olympics

| Summer Olympic Games|

* 1924
* 1928
* 1932–1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

|

Winter Olympic Games|

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* 1992
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* 2010
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* 2022
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*[LAP]: Lapped
*[DNA]: Did not advance
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