Together with them, Raimeda Bučinskytė, light athletes Aušra Garunkšnytė, Eivydė Vainauskaitė, Oksana Dobrovolskaja, Andrius Skuja, swimmer Edgaras Matakas and Osvaldas Bareikis will compete in the Paralympics.
It was the latter two athletes who shone with medals at the last Tokyo Paralympic Games – both Paralympians won bronze.
Before the start of the Lithuanian performances, give your insights to the portal lrytas.lt Kęstutis Skučas, president of the Lithuanian Disabled Sports Federation, LSU doctor of science, associate professor and champion of the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, shared about the Paris Games.
“I think that this number of nine athletes is really optimal. If we look at previous games, we had a goalball team that immediately added six athletes, and now all nine are from individual sports. I think that this number is even close to the maximum, according to the current situation, it could have been worse, because we did not get that many quotas, but compared to sports, we have even five athletes, in terms of quantity, it is one of the largest delegations.
Knowing the whole context of getting to the Paralympic Games, it was an interesting moment that we also received quite a few invitations by name. There are young athletes who, thanks to this, will be able to test themselves on this stage.
I think that this is a great merit of both the Lithuanian Disabled Sports Federation and the Paralympic Committee. Recently, we have been very visible in the international arena, huge delegations of our athletes used to go to international events. With our active participation and results, we drew the attention of the International Paralympic Committee even more, that number of Paralympians is really satisfactory”, he reasoned.
K. Skučas not only heads the Lithuanian Disabled Sports Federation, but also trains athletes and tries to provide them with the most favorable conditions for preparation.
It is the Lithuanian Disabled Sports Federation that has prepared more than half of the delegation for these games – five out of nine Paralympians: shooter R. Bučinskytė, swimmer G. Čepavičiūtė and light athletes A. Skuja, D. Dundzi and E. Vainauskaitė.
How did the preparation of the athletes progress during the entire Paralympic cycle?
“This preparation cycle was somewhat shorter, because the Tokyo Paralympic Games were moved forward one year due to the pandemic. Those three years passed very quickly, but the preparation itself went really smoothly, the athletes in this cycle really got better conditions than they had before.
Funding increased, opportunities increased, many really had good conditions for preparation. The number of camps increased, especially as the Paralympic Games approached. We managed to instill the benefits of camps to both coaches and athletes, because in camps the work is much more intense, you distance yourself from extraneous things, you can only concentrate on preparation.
Some athletes had opportunities to go abroad, others were given very good conditions at the sports center in Druskininkai.
As for the competitions, their number has also expanded, there have been more opportunities for athletes to test themselves not only in training and camps. When we already knew the first Paralympians or potential athletes competing in Paris, the focus on them increased even more, there were even more competitions, especially where even more psychological preparation is needed.
I would rate the whole preparation as not bad, the most gratifying thing is that we managed to avoid major injuries, which allows us to expect better results,” the LSU associate professor continued.
Out of the nine Lithuanian Paralympians participating in the Paris Games, this will be the first Paralympics in their career for A. Garunkšnyta, E. Vainauskaita, G. Čepavičiūta and R. Bučinskyta.
At that time, K. Skučas has participated in as many as five Paralympic Games, what advice would he like to give to debutants of the Games?
“Participating in the Paralympic Games has its uniqueness, because there is really no such pressure, there are not so many spectators, there are not so many expectations at the World or European Championships – the Paralympic Games always have more attention. This adds pressure from the outside.
An athlete always has various thoughts before the start, and some factors then cause additional tension. My advice would be to try not to react emotionally to everything, stay within yourself.
It is very difficult to talk about any specific case, because every athlete takes everything differently. I think that certain moments must be “worked out” even before the Games – some use the help of a psychologist, others look for other ways to calm down.
I think that excitement and adrenaline will definitely be there, you just need to try to set yourself up and perhaps not emphasize the competition as much as the environment demands. I want to advise the trainees not to put the burden on them to show what they can do for today,” the LNSF president continued.
It was he who shone with silver in swimming at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens.
Remembering his Paralympic experience, K. Skučas spoke about the emotions that stuck for the rest of his life, and about the painful lessons he received.
“The feeling of participating in the Paralympic Games is simply sublime. I remember my first Paralympic Games, which were held in Sydney in 2000, the most. From the first moment when you arrive at the Olympic village, when you get to know the arenas, the atmosphere of the spectators, the massiveness…
Then you start rethinking your starts, you try to bring yourself to the condition to show the best result. At that moment, you realize what you came here for, that this is the biggest representation of your country, and then you have a few bigger demands on yourself.
If we talk about excitement, it probably got less and less with each Paralympic Games, but the thing that stuck out the most for me was the event that happened at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
Then there was a lot of pressure on myself, it seems that I work very hard, I am confident that there will be a good result, and I was in very good shape physically. I came to the Beijing Games having already won a silver medal at the Athens Games, so those expectations were raised.
I remember one journalist’s observation that: “You won silver in Athens, and now we will wait for gold in Beijing.”
If you don’t control yourself, things like that go to your head and you lose control of yourself. It seemed that I was just very calm, but at that moment I pressed the stick. That excessive desire can also have consequences.
Then I didn’t even understand what happened, I couldn’t even make a normal mushroom. In the final swim, I was 4-5 seconds behind my personal best and finished fifth, even though I qualified third for the final.
It was a huge shock to me because I already practically had the medal in my pocket, but it was a huge lesson for me. But every athlete has to learn his lessons and move on,” said the Paralympic vice-champion.
It is psychological strength that he wants to wish to all Lithuanian Paralympians, and especially to athlete A. Skuja, whose psychology prevented him from a more successful performance at the World Championship.
Looking at the Lithuanian Paralympic team, the LSU doctor of science did not spare warm words for the athletes competing in Paris.
“If we talk about youth, swimmer G. Čepavičiūtė is already showing very high results, participating in various international events both in the world and in Europe. The athlete E. Vainauskaitė is also characterized by the same.
By participating in these Paralympic Games, these athletes will have more motivation for the future. They will bring back not only great emotions, but also greater maturity, which will inspire them to continue on the path of professional sports.
If they manage to achieve or be close to their best results in competitions of this rank, it would be a really good achievement.
These athletes did not make it to the Paralympic Games by chance – E. Vainauskaitė really stands out and shines with her extraordinary character, stubbornness and work ethic, and G. Čepavičiūtė also deserves the best words, I have known her since she was a child, because I myself have been swimming for many years .
She is a very promising athlete, the maturity and personality growth of this athlete is pleasing. As an athlete, these Paralympic Games will definitely give her a lot.
I would like to single out Donats Dundzis, I like his character, results are shown in competitions, he is able to show results at the most important moment. I would also like to single out shooter Raimeda Bučinskytė, her sport is one that requires cool nerves, here psychological preparation is one of the most important.
Blind athletes also have great potential – both E. Matakas and the light athlete O. Dobrovolskaja, the marathon runner A. Garunkšnytė, the wrestler O. Bareikis, who has a very good character.
We wish for the best result, and those medals will come if there is a result”, reasoned the president of the Lithuanian Disabled Sports Federation.
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Schedule of Lithuanian athletes (Lithuanian time):
Friday, August 30 at 11:07 a.m. Swimming. Gabriele Čepavičiūtė (SM6 class – 200m individual medley). Selection
7:01 p.m. Swimming. Gabriele Čepavičiūtė (SM6 class – 200m individual medley). The final
9:50 p.m. Athletics. Donatas Dundzys (F37 class – shot put). The final
August 31, Saturday
12:42 p.m. Swimming. Edgaras Mataks (S11 class – 50m freestyle). Selection
1:00 p.m. Shooting. Raimeda Bučinskytė (10-meter air pistol). Selection
3:45 p.m. Shooting. Raimeda Bučinskytė (10-meter air pistol). The final
9:27 p.m. Swimming. Edgaras Mataks (S11 class – 50m freestyle). The final
Tuesday, September 3
1:00 p.m. Athletics. Oksana Dobrovolskaja (F11 – discus throw). The final
September 4, Wednesday
11:05 a.m. Athletics. Andrius Skuja (F46 class – shot put). The final
1:02 p.m. Athletics. Eivydė Vainauskaitė (F46 class – shot put). The final
September 5, Thursday
11:10 a.m. Swimming. Edgar Mataks (SB11 class – 100m breaststroke). Selection
7:01 p.m. Swimming. Edgar Mataks (SB11 class – 100m breaststroke). The final
Friday, September 6
11:00 a.m. Judo wrestling. Osvaldas Bareikis (J2 class – weight category up to 73 kg). Selection
5:00 p.m. Judo wrestling. Osvaldas Bareikis (J2 class – weight category up to 73 kg). Finals
12:50 p.m. Athletics. Donatas Dundzys (F37 class – discus throw). The final
Saturday, September 7
10:57 a.m. Swimming. Gabriele Čepavičiūtė (S6 class – 100m backstroke). Selection
6:53 p.m. Swimming. Gabriele Čepavičiūtė (S6 class – 100m backstroke). The final
September 8, Sunday
10:30 a.m. Athletics. Aušra Garunkšnytė (T12 class – marathon).
2024-08-30 08:25:36