Lithuania at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Lithuania competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. After the disappointing debut in the 1924 Summer Olympics, Lithuania was better prepared for the games in Amsterdam. In 1926 it organized the first national Olympics (Lithuanian: Lietuvos sporto šventė).[1] Lithuania sent 12 athletes to compete in 4 sports: athletics, boxing, cycling, and weightlifting. The best result was achieved by boxer Juozas Vinča, who shared 5th–8th places.[1] Lithuania did not appear in the Olympics again until after the restoration of independence in 1992.

Lithuania at the 1928 Summer Olympics
IOC code	LTU
NOC	National Olympic Committee of Lithuania
Website	www.ltok.lt (in Lithuanian and English)
in Amsterdam
Competitors	12 in 4 sports
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1924 1928 1932–1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Other related appearances
Russian Empire (1900–1912)  Soviet Union (1952–1988)

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Haris Šveminas (credited as H. Schwemminas in the official report) competed in men's 100 m and 200 m events. In 100 metres he finished 5th in 12th heat of the first round and did not advance to the semifinals.[2] He shared 63–71 places among 75 competitors.[3] In 200 metres Šveminas was third in the 9th heat, but that was also not enough to advance.[2] In this event he shared 31–44 places among 59 competitors.[3]

Julius Petraitis competed in men's 5,000 m event. He was tenth in 2nd heat and did not advance.[4] Adolfas Akelaitis jumped 160 cm in men's high jump and took the last place.[5] Viktoras Ražaitis competed in men's javelin throw. His result (51.16 metres) secured him 26th place among 28 competitors.[3]

Paulina Radziulytė became the first woman to represent Lithuania in the Olympics. She competed in women's 800 metres. She placed last in the 3rd heat and 23rd–24th overall among 25 athletes.[3] She was also registered for 100 metres, but did not enter the competition.[6]

Men

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Julius Petraitis	5000 m	NT	10	Did not advance
Haris Šveminas	100 m	NT	5	Did not advance
	200 m	NT	3	Did not advance

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Adolfas Akelaitis	High jump	1.60	33	Did not advance
Viktoras Ražaitis	Javelin throw	51.16	26	Did not advance

Women

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Paulina Radziulytė	800 m	NT	9	Did not advance

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Lithuania was represented by two boxers: Juozas Vinča in the light heavyweight (up to 79.4 kg / 175 lb) and Kazys Markevičius in the lightweight competitions (up to 61.2 kg / 135 lb). Vinča won the first match against Robert Foquet from France and advanced to the quarterfinals. He was then knocked out by Donald McCorkindale from South Africa and eliminated from further competition.[7] Vinča thus shared 5th–8th places with boxers from Canada, Ireland, and Great Britain. Markevičius lost his first game to Georges Carcagne from France and did not advance in the competition.[8]

Men

Athlete	Event	1 Round	2 Round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Kazys Markevičius	Lightweight	Georges Carcagne (FRA) L	Did not advance				17
Juozas Vinča	Light heavyweight	BYE	Robert Foquet (FRA) W	Don McCorkindale (RSA) L TKO-2	Did not advance		5

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 1928 Summer Olympics

In cycling Lithuania was represented by four athletes: Isakas Anolikas (also competed in the 1924 Olympics), Vladas Jankauskas, Jurgis Gedminas, and Tarhumas Murnikas. All four competed in the individual road race (168 kilometre time trial). Anolikas and Jankauskas did not finish the race. Murnikas finished the race in 5 hours 41 minutes and placed 50th among 63 competitors. Gediminas was 55th (5 hours 50 minutes).[9]

Road

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Isakas Anolikas	Men's road race	DNF
Jurgis Gedminas		5:50:04	55
Vladas Jankauskas		DNF
Tarhumas Murnikas		5:41:00	50

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Pranas Vitonis,[10] the only Lithuanian weightlifter at the Olympics, competed in men's 75 kg class. He received 275 points and shared 15th–16th places with Ernst Trinkler from Switzerland among 18 competitors.[11]

Men

Athlete	Event	Military Press		Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Povilas Vitonis	75 kg	85	14	85	15	105	18	275	15

References

1. Rimša, Pranas. "80 Metų pasaulio olimpinėje šeimoje" (in Lithuanian). Penki Kontinentai. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
2. "Haris Šveminas". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
3. "Lietuviai olimpinėse žaidynėse" (PDF) (in Lithuanian). Lietuvos lengvosios atletikos federacija. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
4. "Julius Petraitis". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
5. "Athletics at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's High Jump". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
6. The Netherlands Olympic Committee. G. Van Rossem (ed.). The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928: Official Report (PDF). Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy. p. 390. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-08.
7. The Netherlands Olympic Committee. G. Van Rossem (ed.). The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928: Official Report (PDF). Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy. pp. 499, 501. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-08.
8. The Netherlands Olympic Committee. G. Van Rossem (ed.). The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928: Official Report (PDF). Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy. p. 495. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-08.
9. The Netherlands Olympic Committee. G. Van Rossem (ed.). The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928: Official Report (PDF). Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy. p. 523. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-08.
10. Probably not Povilas Vaitonis, the chess player and pole vaulter.
11. The Netherlands Olympic Committee. G. Van Rossem (ed.). The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928: Official Report (PDF). Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy. p. 825. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-08.