Then the torch continued its journey along the Neris River and will reach the Nemunas Island in Kaunas on Saturday. It is here that an impressive sports festival with long-standing traditions in Lithuania – Olympic Day – will bring together city residents, guests, and professional athletes.
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For more than three decades, Olympic Day held in Lithuania invites people to get to know different sports more closely, encourages an active lifestyle, and shares Olympic values – respect, friendship, and improvement. Their importance is also emphasized by the president V. Adamkus, who lit the symbolic Olympic Day torch: “Olympic values nurture not only athletes – they strengthen the entire society.”
“Olympic Day is a big and important celebration that annually brings together sports enthusiasts and professional athletes. I am happy and proud of their desire to share Olympic values, accumulated knowledge, and thus make a significant contribution to a more active and healthier lifestyle for all of us,” says LTOK president, Olympic champion Daina Gudzinevičiūtė.
She notes that this year, special attention during Olympic Day is given to the family – to all its members, from the smallest to the largest. During Olympic Day, they will be able to try sports included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and perhaps even discover one they would like to include in their daily routine. The Olympians themselves will help the participants of the celebration to do this.
The symbolic torch will reach Kaunas on Saturday
Sent off from the LTOK headquarters and lit by President V. Adamkus, the torch continued its journey along the Neris River. The torch was carried by Olympic vice-champion Mindaugas Griškonis, and later taken over by gymnast Rokas Guščinas and ice dancer Saulius Ambrulevičius.
On Saturday, during the opening ceremony of Olympic Day, the torch will continue its journey. It will be carried to the stage in turns by 11 more Olympians from the country: biathletes Maksimas Fominas and Karolis Dombrovskis, sailors Viktorija Andrulytė and Juozas Bernotas, rowers Birutė Šakickienė and Saulius Ritter, skiers Eglė Savickaitė and Vida Vencienė, basketball player Gintautas Matulis, high jumper Nelė Žilinskienė, and discus thrower Romas Ubartas. Visitors will be able to meet all of them at the celebration, and there will be even more Olympians arriving with their entire families.
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Both competitions and entertainment
Visitors from Kaunas and guests of the city attending Olympic Day will be able to try various Olympic sports and interact with Lithuanian Olympians, listen to presentations and discussions on sports, physical activity, and healthy lifestyle topics.
Those wishing to exercise will find a 3×3 basketball tournament, HYROX competitions, a swimming task triathlon at the “Žalgiris” pool, and the traditional Olympic mile run. It will also be possible to try squash, newly included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games program.
During the celebration, it will also be possible to watch the Baltic Cup football match Lithuania-Latvia and even try your strength in special table football, where guests will be able to compete with Olympians. Entertainment will also await the youngest participants of the sports festival.
Olympic Day will take place on Nemunas Island in Kaunas and, as usual, will be free of charge. The goal of the celebration is to promote an active lifestyle, spread Olympic values, introduce sports more closely, and help discover a favorite activity. Olympic Day was first held in Lithuania in 1989 in Vilnius. In 2015, this day became a traveling celebration and visits a different city in the country each time.
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