2010
The best Lithuanian athletes of the year for 2010 in the world and European championships won 14 (6 in world and 8 in European) medals in Olympic events. That was the largest harvest exerted in the history of independent Lithuania!
2010 was the year of the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. In Vancouver, the most successful was our biathlonist Diana Rasimoviciute, who came in 25th in a 7.5 km sprint race. There were other skiers who demonstrated the best performances in cross-country sprint as well: Mantas Strolia came in 46th, Irina Terentjeva was 49th, Aleksejus Novoselskis 53rd and Modestas Vaiciulis 54th. Alpine skier Vitalijus Rumiancevas came in 59th in giant slalom.
In 2010, 24 Lithuanian athletes participated at the First Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Talented young "Hopes "won five medals. Two gold medals were awarded to boxers Evaldas Petrauskas and Ricardas Kuncaitis and one more gold medal went to rower Rolandas Mascinskas. In addition to three gold medalists, there were two bronze medal winners - judoist Laura Naginskaite and pentathlonist Lukas Kontrimavicius. In the world team ranking Lithuania was placed the 19th, the highest ever position! The world ranking system placed Lithuanians ahead of Poles, Byelorussians, Latvians, Estonians and many other potential nations in the world. The Singapore laureates, their coaches, medical workers, sports federation leaders, etc. were honored with awards in a festive celebration at the LNOC headquarters in Vilnius. "Singapore: towards elite Olympus" is the title of the film recorded and demonstrated by the Lithuanian TV.
The Lithuanian National Olympic Committee has inaugurated a new award "Olympic- Blossom"which might be presented in recognition of the highest merits to Olympism.
The weightlifting elite coach Bronislavas Vysniauskas was awarded the 2010 IOC Trophy "Sport- inspiring young people". IOC prizes and diplomas also went to Lithuanian schoolchildren - contestants of Olympic Sport and Literature Competition launched by the International Olympic Committee and its Commission for Culture and Olympic Education. The opening of the sixth edition of the Olympic Festival was launched in the town of Marijampole at the premises of Suduva gymnasium. The festive ceremony brought together many representatives of all three partners - the LNOC, Ministry of Education and Department for Physical Education and Sports.
This year was remarkably effective with the international events: LNOC president Arturas Poviliunas and Secretary General Vytautas Zubernis were taking part in the XVII ANOC General Assembly in Mexico, where Arturas Poviliunas received the highest ANOC decoration in recognition of his valuable services to Olympism over the years. The LNOC leaders went to Malta for the 31st EOC seminar & IOC Olympic Solidarity forum, also participated at the 39th EOC General Assembly in Belgrade. They went to Warsaw to express their condolences to the Polish Olympic Committee when its president Piotr Nurowski died in a tragic air crash on the plane flying to Smolensk.
Traditionally, the LNOC was visited by a number of distinguished guests and delegation from China led by Mr.Duan Shijie, Vice-Minister of General Administration of Sport, also holding the position of Vice-President of the Chinese Olympic Committee with several accompanying persons. Discussed were the interested points of bilateral collaboration.
Lithuanian delegation headed by the LNOC Secretary General Vytautas Zubernis ,in Lausanne, at the IOC headquarters introduced the Olympic-based concept (Ecolympic tree project) to Ganda Sithole, director of the IOC International Cooperation and Development Department. Presentation was held by the author of this project, sculptor Vytautas Karciauskas and Arvydas Juozaitis, philosopher, bronze medallist at the Montreal Olympiad.
To the EOC Commissions "Medical & Antidoping" and "Olympic Culture & Education" were elected Lithuanian representatives Dalius Barkauskas and Algirdas Raslanas respectively.
Lithuanian sports apparel company "Audimas" gave a go-ahead to the production of ceremonial and sporting clothing for the 2012 London Olympiad delegation.
At the very end of the year 2010, the Lithuanian sports society received a long awaited book of the LNOC president Arturas Poviliunas. In this valuable historical monograph with the title - "Olympic Lithuania in 1918 - 2008: turning points, stages, world contexts" have been comprehensively reviewed the most significant stages, evolution, problems and considerations of the Lithuanian and world Olympic movement.
