LITHUANIA 100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE AS FEMALE OLYMPIANS WELCOMED BY PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY
The Lithuanian Olympic Committee’s (LOK) 100-year anniversary celebrations continued as nine of their best female Olympians were honoured by the President and First Lady ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2024.
President of Lithuania, Mr Gitanas Nausėda, and First Lady,Ms Diana Nausėdienė, presented each of the Olympians in attendance with a copy of the special edition commemorative book “Baltic Women on the Olympic Games Awards Podium”and a centenary medal.
European Olympic Committees (EOC) Vice President and President of the LOK, Ms Daina Gudzinevičiūtė, who won the gold medal in shooting at the Olympic Games Sydney 2000 presented the first lady with a signed book on behalf of the Olympians in attendance.
She was joined by Angelė Rupšienė, Lina Kačiušytė, Vida Vencienė, Laima Zilporytė, Kristina Poplavskaya, Birutė Šakickienė, Austra Skujytė and Milda Valčiukaitė, and thanked the First Lady for the invite.
President Gudzinevičiūtė said: “Women are strong, ambitious and inspiring in sports, and this year there will be as many female athletes as there will be male at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Gender equality and women’s encouragement to aspire not only for results in sport but also for top positions in sports organisations is one of the strategic goals of the Olympic Movement, which we are pursuing in a targeted way.
“I am delighted to see my colleagues here, who pursued their goals with determination and today serve as an inspiration for young female athletes. We are sincerely grateful to First Lady Diana for her invitation, friendship and attention to the Olympic Movement.”
First Lady Diana Nausėdienė said: “We have gathered here to pay tribute to special women, the medallists of the Olympic Games. I sincerely thank the Olympic community for this beautiful initiative and for the extraordinary opportunity to congratulate the women ‒ our legends and extraordinary personalities ‒ who have immortalised the name of Lithuania in the history of world sports.
“Dear athletes, with the story of your victories, you have immortalised women’s strength of will, power and talent. Thank you for strengthening our society and the state with your personality power and professionalism.”
To further commemorate the occasion, Lithuanians from all over the world have been invited to join the 100th Anniversary Walking Challenge, which invites participants to walk in the support of one of 28 Olympic sports.
More than 11 500 participants have already joined the challenge by connecting to the #walk15 mobile app with basketball proving to be the most popular sport. The challenge will last for 100 days until 7 June, and the 50 most active participants will be awarded on 8 June during the Olympic Day in Šiauliai.
Source: eurolympic.org
