The eleventh World Lithuanian Games were held in the famous resort town of Druskininkai from July 14 to 17. Over 2700 non-professional athletes came from 23 countries, mostly from the US and the UK. The Games provide a wonderful opportunity for Lithuanians throughout the world to gather and celebrate Lithuanian sports, taking pride in their common heritage.
This year the games, organized by UAB Lietuvos sporto centras, provided athletes with a wide variety of sports to participate in, not only including the usual basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, swimming, and chess, but also badminton, orienteering, beach volleyball, billiards and others – a total of 29 sports in all.
On the third day of the games, Rolandas Žukauskas from Great Britain performed 3500 push-ups in 6 hours, breaking his own previous record by 480.
The program included a conference on the history of Lithuanian World Sports and its future. The Games are normally held every 4 years, but were delayed by a year this time due to the pandemic. The first Games were in 1938 in Kaunas, then discontinued for 40 years under the Soviet occupation. They were revived in 1978 in Toronto, Canada, later in Chicago, USA, and Adelaide, Australia, finally in Lithuania again in 1991. The next Games will be held in Palanga, Lithuania, in 2025.
