Lithuania at the 1928 Summer Olympics

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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 ( _lt. Lietuvos sporto šventė). 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.lt icon cite web| url=http://2004.olimpiada.lt/default.aspx?Element=Articles&DL=&TopicID=3&CountryID=&SportID=&ContestID=&LocationID=&TeamID=&AthleteID=&ArticleID=76717&Page=&SearchTXT= |title=80 Metų pasaulio olimpinėje šeimoje |first=Pranas |last=Rimša |publisher=Penki Kontinentai |accessdate=2008-08-22] Lithuania did not appear in the Olympics again until 1992.

Athletics

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. He shared 63–71 places among 75 competitors.lt icon cite web|url=http://www.laf.lt/lt/rank/oz.html |title=Lietuviai olimpinėse žaidynėse | publisher=Lietuvos lengvosios atletikos federacija |accessdate=2008-08-22] In 200 metres Šveminas was third in the 9th heat, but that was also not enough to advance.cite web| url=http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sv/haris-sveminas-1.html |title=Haris Šveminas |publisher=Sports Reference |accessdate=2008-08-22] In this event he shared 31–44 places among 59 competitors.

Julius Petraitis competed in men's 5,000 m event. He was tenth in 2nd heat and did not advance. [cite web| url=http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pe/julius-petraitis-1.html |title=Julius Petraitis |publisher=Sports Reference |accessdate=2008-08-22] Adolfas Akelaitis jumped 160 cm in men's high jump and took the last place. [cite web| url=http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1928/ATH/mens-high-jump.html |title=Athletics at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's High Jump |publisher=Sports Reference |accessdate=2008-08-22] Viktoras Ražaitis competed in men's jevelin throw. His result (51.16 metres) secured him 26th place among 28 competitors.

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 23th–24th overall among 25 athletes. She was also registered for 100 metres, but did not enter the competition. [cite book| url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1928/1928.pdf |title=The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928: Official Report |editor=G. Van Rossem |author=The Netherlands Olympic Committee |publisher=J. H. de Bussy |location=Amsterdam |pages=390]

Boxing

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. [cite book| url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1928/1928.pdf |title=The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928: Official Report |editor=G. Van Rossem |author=The Netherlands Olympic Committee |publisher=J. H. de Bussy |location=Amsterdam |pages=499, 501] 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. [cite book| url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1928/1928.pdf |title=The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928: Official Report |editor=G. Van Rossem |author=The Netherlands Olympic Committee |publisher=J. H. de Bussy |location=Amsterdam |pages=495]

Cycling

In cycling Lithuania was represented by four athletes: Isakas Anolikas (also competed in the 1924 Olympics), Vladas Jankauskas, Jurgis Gedminas, and Tarchumas 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). [cite book| url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1928/1928.pdf |title=The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928: Official Report |editor=G. Van Rossem |author=The Netherlands Olympic Committee |publisher=J. H. de Bussy |location=Amsterdam |pages=523]

Weightlifting

Povilas Vitonis, 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. [cite book| url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1928/1928.pdf |title=The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928: Official Report |editor=G. Van Rossem |author=The Netherlands Olympic Committee |publisher=J. H. de Bussy |location=Amsterdam |pages=825]

References