The World Games is an 11-day international multi-sport event organized every four years with the support of the International Olympic Committee. Held the year following the Summer Olympic Games, the World Games are showcasing a “New Generation of Global Sports” in Birmingham, Alabama, from July 7-17. About 3,600 elite athletes from over 100 countries are competing for gold in more than 30 of the fastest growing sports in the world.
Early in the day on July 10 the Lithuanian national anthem rang out at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham. Fans were delighted to see that Evaldas Sodeika and Ieva Sodeikiene had won gold medals, and Vaidotas Lacitis and Veronika Lacitiene received the bronze. The Sodeikas from Kaunas surpassed contenders by a wide margin in all five categories, garnering 195.582 points of a possible 200. They were most successful with the slow foxtrot, nearing perfection with 39.5 points out of 40. The couple was delighted to win gold, after coming in third at the 2017 games.
Vaidotas and Veronika Lacitis had 187.618 points out of 200, and scored best in the tango, with 37.542 of 40.
The third Lithuanian couple competing in the World Games, Edgaras Baltaragis and Indrė Baltaragė of Kaunas also did very well, coming in ninth with 171 points out of 200, and excelled in the quickstep. They were very pleased to reach the high point of their career at this event.
This year, the silver medal went to Italian dancers Francesco Galuppo and Debora Pacini with a score well behind the Sodeikas’.
